Money and Happiness Go Hand in Hand
by Ahtnamas
Summary: AU. What if you were poor and you needed money? What if you were told that you won the lottery? And what if you discovered that it was a prank call? Inuyasha and Kagome team up to raise money and end up in all sorts of situations. InuKag, MirSan.
1. my world turned upside down

Chapter 1: My World Turned Upside Down

"Wait! Wait for me!" Kagome yelled, hastily picking up her backpack, a comb, and some lunch money.

She waved her arms wildly, but the school bus continued without her. Her arms dropped to her sides, her mouth open in disbelief, as she watched the back of the yellow bus puttering down the street.

Kagome threw her hands up in the air, sighing in frustration, forgetting she was carrying things in her hand. The comb flew up in the air and landed rather neatly on the sidewalk and her money scattered across the floor.

_Great. Just great. What a lovely way to start the day_.

Kagome broke into a run, panting and puffing, thankful that she only lived a few minutes away from the school._  
_  
Well, a few minutes driving, that is. Pushing the nagging thought in the back of her mind, Kagome concentrated on running as fast as she possibly could.

The building appeared in her sight, and she gave an inward cheer, as she was too tired to say anything aloud.

Kagome burst through entrance door and into the classroom, her legs aching and her face probably disgustingly sweaty and flushed. She should start exercising more often if that was what one single run could do to her.

Her math teacher, Mr. Gnirob, stopped writing an equation on the board to glare at her. "Late, Miss Higurashi?"

Breathlessly, she replied, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again, but Souta, my brother, he took my alarm clock, and I overslept, so I missed the bus and—" She was aware she was blabbing. Unfortunately, so did her teacher.

"That's quite enough," Mr. Gnirob interrupted curtly. "Please sit."

Kagome frowned as she slumped in her chair. She took out her notebook, carefully avoiding her classmates' gazes and pretending it didn't matter to her.

"Now," the teacher continued. "We will go over last night's homework."

Kagome dully opened her notebook and, with a shock, could not seem to find the piece of paper…

Homework! A cold shiver went through her. She hadn't done it! With that sudden realization, Kagome shrunk in her seat, hoping furiously that Mr. Gnirob wouldn't call on her.

After remembering that the teacher seemed to have a talent for picking on the students who had slacked off, Kagome thought of another plan.

She raised her hand. "May I please go to the bathroom?" she asked, feigning a stomachache and wincing slightly for a more authentic effect.

Mr. Gnirob stared, as if analyzing her. Then he smiled. "No, you may not. But you _may_ tell us your answer to number one."

Kagome's heart froze and she stared. Mr. Gnirob looked right back. The class did not dare to move. Dead silence.

"My, my. Late, _and_ no homework. Detention it is, Miss Higurashi, detention."

Kagome gasped. Her mind whirred. Detention? How was that possible? Kagome was a typical goody-two-shoes.

Sango, who seemed to have woken from a stupor, glared angrily at the teacher and gave Kagome a sympathetic look.

"Now, let's continue, class," Mr. Gnirob commanded. "Inuyasha, the answer to number one, please...Inuyasha?" he walked over to Inuyasha's desk briskly.

"What do we have here?" he plucked the notebook out of Inuyasha's unsuspecting hands, and his face clouded with fury.

Inuyasha stared calmly, not intimidated. Then he grinned. "Like it, Gnirob?"

The class watched in horrid fascination as the teacher's face turned purple.

"I will not stand for this!" Mr. Gnirob roared, slamming the notebook back onto the desk. The more brazen students began leaning over to see what was so offensive. Smiling, Inuyasha showed them the notebook.

Scrawled on the paper in big letters was, "No wonder Gnirob backwards is 'boring.'" Under it, he had drawn a cartoon picking his nose and writing '1+13' on the board.

The class laughed, but one look from the teacher silenced them abruptly.

"Inuyasha! Detention!"

_Great_, Kagome thought. _Not only do I have detention, I have it with him._

-

Kagome trudged into the noisy cafeteria, and immediately smelled the stench of gym socks. Groaning, she walked up to the line waiting for hot lunch and casually attempted to stop breathing. When that did not appear to work, she put a hand over her nose. Picking up a tray of food quickly, she paid the grumpy cashier and walked over to the table nearest to the exit and plunked her tray down.

Kagome gazed at her watery yellow rice, noticing that it seemed to glow. The chicken looked like whipped cream…The carrots were mushy, but at least they were orange.

_This is what I get for ordering hot lunch_.

_If only my stupid dad hadn't up and left us—with debts everywhere. Then Mom wouldn't have to work two jobs, from, like, the break of dawn till about midnight. Then I could actually see her. Then I wouldn't have to—_

"Kagome?" a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up. "Sango? Oh, hi."

"Are you okay? You looked...bummed," Sango said, concerned.

Kagome hadn't told her about what had happened. She didn't even know why. She knew Sango would be sympathetic; the two of them would probably have come up with a list of adjectives describing her dad. Sango would even have baked her cookies and given her a couple of CDs to angst over.

"Oh, um, it's just, you know, the detention thing," Kagome lied, mentally kicking herself at the same time.

Sango's dark eyes flashed. "Mr. Gnirob is an idiot!"

Kagome peeled a sticker of the lunch table dejectedly. "Yeah."

There was silence at their table for the rest of lunch. But the whirring of both girls' minds were enough. Kagome was thinking of her family; Sango was cursing Mr. Gnirob.

-

Kagome peered inside the classroom from the window on the door. Inuyasha was already there. He was slumped in a back seat, supposedly doing his lines. Somehow, Kagome really doubted it.

Walking stiffly, she entered.

"Gnirob isn't here; he has the directions on the board," Inuyasha told her, smirking.

Kagome noted that he sounded rather sure of himself and concluded that he probably spent half his life over in detention anyway. She glanced at the board. A few quickly scrawled words, "Kagome Higurashi: 50 times, "I will do my homework."

Lines. Kagome sat in a desk on the opposite side of the room and began to pull out a piece of paper before a most unwelcome distraction caught her attention.

Inuyasha laughed. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"I am _not_!" Kagome all but yelled, wishing he would just shut up and leave her alone. He raised an eyebrow, which infuriated her even more.

"Fine, I'll prove it," she snapped. Slamming her notebook shut, she got up and stalked over to the seat next to him...

When he smiled innocently and stuck his foot out...

...and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor. Her knees ached and her head hurt. She dimly realized she was staring at the dusty tiles.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she got up, dusted herself off, and calmly sat in her desk. She was seething inside, but did nothing more than ignoring him.

Silence.

Kagome was busily writing as fast as she could. She assumed that Inuyasha was writing his, too. (He had gotten so on the teacher's nerves that he had to write, a hundred times, "I will not let my bad attitude, terrible handwriting, and bad drawings that an unborn child could draw, disturb the class.")

Kagome sighed, allowing her thoughts to consume her as they often did when no one was talking. She was late, and poor Souta was probably starving.

And they needed to go grocery shopping. Her mother hadn't even gotten her paychecks yet…

Kagome, motivated now, finished her lines and placed them on Mr. Gnirob's desk.

Then, with one last glare at Inuyasha, she flounced out of the room, leaving him to his own work.

-

Inuyasha stared at the door, watching as it slammed shut.

Higurashi was mad? He didn't think she could _do_ mad. She was way too nice...

Whatever.

He'd call Miroku and they'd do what they did best: procrastinate.

-

Kagome sprinted home as fast as she could, despite the face that her legs were aching and that ever fiber in her body was screaming that she was not meant for running. But really, who listens to their body anyway?

She dumped her backpack on the floor.

"Mom?" No answer. Kagome sighed. Why did she even try?

"Souta?" she called.

Souta yelled, as he pounded down the stairs, "Someone called and I told them to leave a message but I didn't listen to it." Then he frowned. "And I'm hungry!"

"Oh, Souta," Kagome said. "I'm so sorry! How about I cook right after I listen to the message?"

Kagome put on a bright and cheery smile. She wanted to hide Souta from the reality, the painful truth. Bills were piling up in her mother's room. They were selling all their old things. The electricity kept going out, not because of blackouts, like she told Souta, but because the bills were not paid.

"Okay!" he said happily, and bounded out the room.

As soon as he was gone, the smile left her face. The cheerful exterior melted. She collapsed on the couch.

Kagome tried, with all her might, not to feel a surging hatred every time she thought of her father. He was, after all, her dad.

But what kind of a dad just leaves?

_Poor Mom...She works so hard and we barely see her anymore.  
_  
Kagome sighed as she pressed the little green button to play the messages.

"Hello, this is from Miracle Hospital, calling for Miss Kagome Higurashi. Please call us back."

Kagome's heart all but stopped. As imagination usually does, horrible images crowded her mind.

The hospital? Had her mother— ?

No! Her mother wasn't sick! She wasn't! She couldn't be!

Quickly, Kagome's hands dialed the number.

"Hello? This is Kagome Higurashi," her voice shook.

"Oh, hello Miss Higurashi. I'm so sorry, but we called to inform you that your mother needs to be moved to a higher level hospital."

Kagome gasped. Her mother was in the hospital? "Why?" she blurted.

"Your mother is suffering from lung cancer. There is a high chance that she may die."


	2. the lottery

Chapter 2: The Lottery!  
  
-  
  
Kagome's face paled as her hands, shaking badly, dropped the phone. Her heart pounded. The world seemed to be spinning rapidly. Her worst nightmare was coming true.  
  
And her mother couldn't even get better health care. They had no money to spare.  
  
She couldn't feel her body; it seemed as if someone else had possessed her. Souta! How would he take this? Maybe it would be better to shield him from this. Yet she couldn't stand to pretend forever.  
  
"Souta?" she called.  
  
He came to her, worried. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
Putting on her cheerful façade, she replied. "No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to spend a few days at a friend's house. I know you've been working hard lately."  
  
Souta's eyes shone. "Can I really?"  
  
Kagome tried to smile. "I'll call you when you should come back."  
  
Souta packed up a few things quickly. "Thank you, Kagome!" he shouted, as he skipped out the door. Kagome smiled and waved.  
  
As soon as the door shut, the flood of emotions couldn't be contained. She broke down, sobbing. "No," she told herself. "This can't be happening! Mom...  
  
She closed her eyes. Memories of her childhood came back to her. Her mom kissing her good night...her mom in the hospital holding Souta...how they had cooked together...family trips...Kagome wiped a tear from her eye roughly.  
  
Cancer. A tiny six-letter word that could tear her family apart. With just one word, her whole life could shatter into pieces.   
  
And she couldn't pick the pieces up and put them together again.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha slouched out of the school and headed towards the nearest pay phone. Flicking in some coins, he began to dial Miroku's phone number.  
  
Surely, he would be home. Yep, he was. Oh well, it figured. He didn't have a life.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Geez, Miroku," Inuyasha said.  
  
"Oh, it's you."  
  
"Who were you expecting?"  
  
"Prank calls!" Miroku replied, exasperated. There was silence on the other line. "What? They keep calling me..."  
  
"Right. So can I come to your house?"  
  
"Like you even needed to ask! It's a tradition!"  
  
And it was. Ever since they began high school, they had gone to his house and procrastinated.  
  
-  
  
Miroku and Inuyasha lazily lounged in Miroku's room, eating the snacks they were provided with.  
  
"So," Inuyasha muttered, his mouth full from a peanut butter sandwich. "What should we do?"  
  
"Prank calls!" Miroku yelled. _They should pay for annoying me to death.  
_  
-  
  
Sango stared blankly at the flashing cursor on her computer. She was supposed to have typed her report, but she couldn't think. She typed a few sentences, re-read them, then backspaced it all.  
  
Her mind drifted.  
  
_ I hope Kagome's okay. She's always been a little sensitive. And she was even moody at lunch. Kagome's never like this_, Sango thought.  
  
Then the phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.  
  
"Hello?" she said.  
  
"Hello," a voice said. It was familiar, yet she couldn't place it. Then there was a fit of laughter.  
  
It said cheerfully, "This is Miroku; is your refrigerator running?"  
  
Wait, wasn't this a prank call thing?  
  
"Um, yes...Miroku? What do YOU want?" she said, her eyebrows wrinkling in confusion.  
  
"Then you'd better go catch it!" the voice said gleefully.  
  
She was about to say, "Lame, Miroku, really lame," when he hung up.  
  
_ Stupid Miroku!_ she thought. _I think I need a break.  
_  
She trotted down the stairs hoping to sneak in a snack or two before her mom caught her. Or before her brother, Kohaku, told on her. Whichever came first.  
  
She walked casually over to the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, Mom," she said innocently. She leaned on the counter, in front of where the snacks were kept.  
  
"Hi, Sango, How was your day?" her mom asked cheerfully.  
  
"Oh, it was okay..." Slowly, behind her back, she fingered the doughnut box, and slipped one into a napkin in her hand.  
  
Her mother turned to the stove as she bounded up the stairs, holding her prize. But there was a knot in her stomach. She couldn't eat anything, not even a doughnut, until she made sure Kagome was okay.  
  
She dialed her best friend's number. "Hey, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome answered the phone. Her voice was stuffy and she kept sniffling.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Sango gasped. "My god, Kagome, you sound horrible! Are you okay? Was detention that bad?"  
  
All her thoughts were concentrated on her friend. Kagome had helped Sango through rough times, and now it was Sango's turn to return the favor.  
  
"I—I'm okay," Kagome said shakily.  
  
"No, you're not," Sango insisted. Her heart beat a little faster. "Please, Kagome, tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Well," Kagome said. "it's ju—just that detention really shook me up..."  
  
Sango breathed a sigh of relief. The way Kagome made it sound freaked her out. At least nothing was wrong with her friend. She could rest easy for the night and enjoy that doughnut.  
  
-  
  
Miroku and Inuyasha laughed loudly.  
  
"That—that was classic!" Inuyasha panted between peals of laughter.  
  
"Who next?" Miroku asked, in an equally choked, crazy voice.  
  
Inuyasha racked his brain. Who was gullible enough to—?  
  
"Higurashi." Inuyasha smiled. "It's my turn."  
  
They flipped through elementary school yearbooks. You'd think that they'd look through the phone book, but whatever. Little kids always signed their names and phone numbers.  
  
"Hello, is this Kagome Higurashi?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Uh-huh, who is this?" Kagome said, in a quiet voice.  
  
"Um, Inuyasha."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Geez, someone's cranky today. Oh. Well, you know how I'm rich, right? We were having a little sweepstake." Inuyasha held back a laugh. Miroku, who already knew what was coming, clapped his hands over his mouth.  
  
"And I just wanted to tell you that you won the lottery! A million dollars!"  
  
-  
  
Kagome gasped. Of all the luck...Inuyasha's family was incredibly rich. And now she could pay for her mother's health care!  
  
"Oh my god!" she screamed. "Thank you! You have no idea what you just did!"  
  
She hung up. She required herself to think that just because there was more money, it didn't mean that her mom was getting better.   
  
But a smile forced its way to her lips and she couldn't help but grin. Soon she was jumping up and down shrieking.  
  
Online, she bought groceries (to be delivered to her house, that is) and made an appointment to have her mother moved to a different hospital.  
  
Tick. The clock struck ten. She took an especially long shower, brushed her teeth and fell asleep smiling. _I won the lottery_, she sing- songed in her head.  
  
-  
  
At school...  
  
The next morning, she was _not_ late. Kagome spotted Inuyasha lurking near his locker. She skipped towards it.  
  
"Inuyasha!" she cried. "I just want to thank you! Because of you, my mother can be cured of cancer and we can pay our bills!"   
  
Laughing, she twirled down the hallway, calling over her shoulder, "You're a lifesaver! Literally!"  
  
Inuyasha's mouth dropped open.  
  
_Uh-oh,_ he thought. _I think I made a mistake._


	3. don't burst my bubble

Chapter 3: Don't Burst My Bubble  
  
-  
  
Thoughts, an endless stream of words and bits and pieces of phrases, swum in Inuyasha's mind. He stood gaping, trying to make sense of what he had just heard.  
  
Then, through the jumbled clamor, one sentence broke through.  
  
What—have—I—done?!  
  
His body seemed detached from his brain, and he looked around. He saw Miroku walking aimlessly in the halls. Well—aimlessly wasn't quite the word.  
  
Miroku was standing near a group of giggling girls, whistling innocently, while his hand—_slap_!  
  
Inuyasha would have laughed, if he didn't feel like such a rotten worm. Yet another handprint was etched on his face. Miroku shrugged.  
  
"_Miroku! Get your butt over here!"_ Inuyasha hollered. Seeing his best friend, Miroku walked over to his locker.  
  
"_Miroku_! _Do you know what we did_?" Inuyasha yelled, as a bunch of kids standing near them moved. Miroku blinked.  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha groaned. "Prank call...money...groceries...cancer!"  
  
Miroku stared, wide-eyed. "Inuyasha, calm down. You're not making any sense. Say it one more time, but _slower_."  
  
Inuyasha glared. He didn't _want_ to say it again. He felt terrible about it already; admitting it would make it seem so real. But Miroku was the one who got him into this, right? So he would repeat it once, even if only to get it through his friend's thick skull.  
  
Inuyasha took a deep breath. Here goes.  
  
"We prank called Kagome. She believed us and spent her family's money, and it can't be refunded. _And_ her mother is dying of lung cancer!"  
  
Miroku felt his stomach drop. "Let me get this straight. Not only are we letting her mother die, we made her family broke too?"  
  
Inuyasha slammed his fist against the lockers. A resounding clang greeted him. His fist was throbbing with pain yet he didn't feel it.  
  
All he felt was a blinding white-hot rage that needed to be let out. He needed to vent. It couldn't be held in anymore. And it was directed at Miroku.  
  
"Miroku, you idiot! This was all your fault! You just _had_ to decide on prank calling!"  
  
Inuyasha sounded like a brat and he knew it. Which only succeeded in making him more angry.  
  
"Don't take your anger out on me, Inuyasha," Miroku stated calmly. "It was your idea for the lottery, and your idea to prank call Kagome."  
  
"We—both of us—" Miroku said pointedly, "are going to deal with this together. Somehow."  
  
"_Argh_!" Inuyasha hollered. Why did Miroku know him so well?  
  
Even more annoyed, Inuyasha rammed his foot against the wall. Thud. Then, all his anger spent, he sagged his shoulders.  
  
"How are we gonna deal with this?" he groaned.  
  
Miroku sighed. "I think the first thing to do if for you to tell her—uh oh. Late for class. Later!" He sped off.  
  
"Wait, me?" Inuyasha glared at his retreating back. How dare he just leave? Then Inuyasha sighed. Really, it was his fault. And it was up to him to make it up to Kagome.  
  
No matter what the costs.  
  
-  
  
Literature (creative writing) class...  
  
"Okay, class," the teacher smiled up from her huge granny glasses. "We are going to write a short poem—"  
  
"About what?" a student interrupted.  
  
"I was getting to that!" she snapped. "Okay. A short poem on how you feel right now!"  
  
She clasped her hands together, her smile cheery, and glanced at the class as if expecting them to all stand up and cheer.  
  
Instead, a loud groan erupted. The teacher glared. "That's the assignment, whether you like it or not!"  
  
The class seemed like robots as they sighed simultaneously and all took out their notebooks.  
  
Kagome smiled. She was feeling a number of things. Writing each emotion down, she came up with a list. 'Relief, happy, content, gratitude.'  
  
And anger. Anger at her father.  
  
Frowning, she crossed out the fifth one. Nothing should spoil her mood. Especially not her father. She smiled as her pencil scrawled words down.  
  
Everything was so familiar...the hum of the air conditioning, the rustle of paper, and the scratching of pencils and pens.  
  
And she hoped nothing would change.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha stared glumly down at the piece of binder paper in front of him.  
  
How he felt? That was garbage. No one, including him, cared.  
  
Groaning, he picked up his pencil and scribbled something down.  
  
Even he didn't know what he had written until he looked. Inuyasha assumed it was a scribble or something of the sort.  
  
But one word was written:  
  
Guilt.  
  
-  
  
Sango was concentrating deeply, absorbed in her writing. _I have the best idea!_ she thought. Until—  
  
Poke.  
  
She whirled around. "That hurt!"  
  
Miroku grinned at her.  
  
"Miroku!" she hissed.  
  
Seeing his grin annoyed her. Though she knew she was overreacting, she balled her fists in anger.  
  
He had made her forget her idea. Her best idea, the best she ever had during the whole year—scratch that, her whole high school years! All because he had poked her.  
  
And he was gonna pay.  
  
Sango crumpled up her poem in a tight ball, smiling innocently when the teacher looked at her. Then, when she turned away, she chucked it over her shoulder.  
  
It hit Miroku right on the forehead.  
  
"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing the red spot on his head. Then he smiled. "But it wasn't worse than a slap."  
  
Kagome, who seemed to be in her own little world, had looked up just in time to see the ball whack Miroku.  
  
_ Front row seat_, Sango smirked. _Lucky. I wish I could've seen that.  
_  
Kagome giggled, and Miroku pretended to give her a glare. But he couldn't help but laugh, too, good-natured as he was.  
  
For some reason, she couldn't help but stare. Behind his perverted ways, there was something Sango admired about him...  
  
_Wait, what am I saying?_ she demanded of herself.  
  
Miroku, catching her stare, grinned even more widely.  
  
_Great_, Sango groaned. _My poem is a crumpled ball in Miroku's desk, and that pervert probably thinks I'm in love with him, too._  
  
-  
  
Lunch...  
  
Sango was chewing contentedly on her salad. _What was with Kagome today?_ she wondered, taking a sip of her water. _She couldn't stop smiling all day._  
  
"Hi!" Kagome said cheerfully, plunking her lunch tray down on the table.  
  
Sango looked up. Yep, Kagome was grinning. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" she asked.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Oh, nothing. I think I had a little too much sugar yesterday."  
  
There was something behind her "nothing." Sango was sure, but she couldn't figure it out.  
  
Oh well. She wouldn't have to deal with this much longer.  
  
No more perverts, no more mood swings, just her, her computer, and the weekend. _Thank God today's a Friday._  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha's heart pounded. It was the end of the day, when he decided he would tell Kagome. He took a deep shaky breath as he rehearsed his speech.  
  
"Kagome? Um...can I talk to you?"  
  
Inuyasha carefully led Kagome through the crowd of students eager to go home.  
  
Oh boy. Let's get this over with.  
  
-  
  
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, a bit cautiously. Her heart pounded with anxiety. She didn't need any more surprises. Whatever it was, the look on his face wasn't too good.  
  
"You know how I told you you won the lottery?"  
  
Her eyes shone. Was he giving her the money?  
  
"Well," he said hastily. "It was a joke. Miroku and I were prank calling. There is no money."  
  
The last four words hit her like a slap in her face.  
  
Kagome's face paled, her mind spun, as she gasped, "What?" 


	4. fess up

Chapter 4: 'Fess Up  
  
-  
  
"Do you know what you _did_?" Kagome yelled.  
  
"I'm...uh...sorry," Inuyasha muttered to the floor.  
  
"_Sorry_?! _Is that all?!"_ Kagome felt as though she had never been so mad.  
  
How dare he! Then she sighed. It wasn't all his fault.  
  
"Why did I spend all that money without thinking?" she mused out loud.  
  
Inuyasha awkwardly mumbled, "Please don't blame yourself."  
  
Hysterically, Kagome shouted, "Blaming myself? I'm not blaming myself! Wanna know why?"  
  
"Um...why?"  
  
"Because," she shrieked, "It's all YOUR fault! All...your...fault..."  
  
Realization hit her. No, hit wasn't the word. It kicked her, hard, making her double over. Kagome wasn't mad anymore.  
  
This meant her mother would die. And she had spent all her family's money. She hugged herself, sobbing.  
  
A wave of helplessness and fear washed over her, cleansing the mask that hid her emotions, as a wave does to the surface of the earth.  
  
What would happen to her and Souta? How could she lose her only parent?  
  
Inuyasha felt his heart ache. Kagome looked so much like a little child, so innocent and vulnerable.  
  
He hated it when girls cried. It made him feel powerless, and it made him look like a jerk. Already, random students were staring at him angrily, as if asking how he could make a girl cry.  
  
Without thinking, he gently hugged her and waited for her sobs to die down.  
  
"I—I'm so sorry...I'll do whatever it takes to help you."  
  
"Promise?" Kagome whispered, her dark brown eyes staring into his.  
  
Blushing, he stared down at the floorboards. "I promise."  
  
_And I mean that_, he thought. _I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it kills me._  
  
-  
  
Sango burst through the door of Miroku's room.  
  
"You two—"  
  
Miroku and Inuyasha's eyes bugged. Inuyasha dropped his deck of cards. If it were another time, Miroku would have fully taken advantage of the situation and sneak a glance at Inuyasha's cards.  
  
Today, Miroku, who had been slurping a smoothie, was in mid-bite when Sango had entered. He mouth dropped open in surprise, his spoon clanging into the cup. He choked, swallowing the bite he had almost coughed up.  
  
"Sango—what..."  
  
Sango was distracted long enough to say, "Miroku! That's gross!" Then she seemed to remember what she was here for.  
  
_That makes one of us_, Inuyasha thought grimly.  
  
"Okay! You two! 'Fess up!" She pointed a finger at them accusingly.  
  
They blinked.  
  
"Oh, don't play innocent with me," Sango scowled, planting her hands on her hips.  
  
"Kagome, the day she got detention, was upset. The next day, she's so happy she's skipping down the halls wearing a huge grin. Then, today, when I came to her house, she was crying. A _lot_."  
  
Sango was babbling as fast as she could. Inuyasha and Miroku were barely following. She ended with a triumphant flourish.  
  
"And I _know_ you two had something to do with it. So 'fess up. Don't bother lying."  
  
"And do it _now_!" she added, when she realized that Inuyasha and Miroku were staring blankly at her.  
  
"Old grouch," Inuyasha muttered to Miroku.  
  
Sango heard it. "Yes?" she asked sweetly. "Did you say something?"  
  
"Nope! Nothing!" Inuyasha blurted.  
  
Miroku stared.  
  
"I'm waiting!" Sango snapped.  
  
"All right, all right!" Miroku said. Seeing that Inuyasha wouldn't be of much help here, he sighed.  
  
"I guess _I'll_ be the one talking." So he repeated the story, making it completely clear that _Inuyasha_ was the one who had came up with the lottery idea. Inuyasha cringed at the end.  
  
Sango's eyes were fiery as she glared at him. "How could you?!"  
  
Then she frowned. "I can't believe Kagome was hiding this! I can't believe it! How her dad left and her mom was sick..."  
  
She stared angrily at a chair. Then she sighed. "And I can't believe how stupid and insensitive I was to not notice something was wrong!" Her eyes filled with tears.  
  
Miroku put his arm around her. He flinched, as if anticipating a slap. But Sango was too upset to care. She even seemed to welcome it.  
  
"I think I'll leave you here," Inuyasha smirked. Then he looked grave.  
  
"I'm going to Kagome's."  
  
-  
  
"Argh! Did I get the address wrong or something?" Inuyasha grumbled.  
  
Stupid! He had read it wrong, and thanks to Sango's terrible handwriting, he had been circling the same place five times.  
  
"Hello," and old man with bug eyes croaked next to him. "I'm Totosai." [Sorry, I HAD to put him in somewhere! Totosai's so cool!]  
  
"Whaddaya want?" Inuyasha snapped.  
  
"Would you like to buy a bouquet of flowers? Yours for only ten dollars."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Like he'd ever need flowers. Wait! Kagome!  
  
"Um...I'll take a dozen roses," he told Totosai, grabbing to flowers and handing him some money. He strolled along the sidewalk with the beautiful red roses.  
  
Inuyasha didn't even realize that roses were the stereotypical romantic flower.  
  
-  
  
Kagome sighed. She reached into her second box of tissues.  
  
Nothing worked.  
  
Her best friend couldn't make the reality go away. She had tried drowning her sorrows in a bubble bath. [Oh! Pun! Drown...bath...okay, I'll shut up.] She had eaten a bunch of ice cream. She had watched cartoons for the past three hours.  
  
Kagome was now entertaining herself with a printout of corny jokes. (Knock knock jokes and the classic variation of "Is Uranus bigger than Mars?")  
  
Then the doorbell rang, jolting her out of her thoughts. _Do I really need to get that?_ she thought grumpily, pulling herself to her feet like a lazy sloth. She moved slowly to the door, opened it, and there stood Inuyasha.  
  
His hands were behind his back, clutching something.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a voice cold enough to freeze fire. Of course, it was said with more venom than she actually felt.  
  
He glanced awkwardly.  
  
"I don't know...I guess I don't belong here...it's just that—here" he shoved a bunch of roses into her hands.  
  
"I'm so sorry and I hope that you forgive me...if you don't, I understand, but I want you to know that I'll earn all that money back...And I guess I'll be going now..."  
  
Kagome felt a tug at her heart. Her trying to act tough was like watching a cute little mouse bare it's teeth and growl.  
  
"No—stay," she said softly.  
  
Inuyasha was incredulous. "You mean—you'd still let me set foot in your house, even after all that I'd done to you?"  
  
Kagome smiled a little. "Yeah...well, you'd better get in here before I change my mind and slam the door on you."  
  
Both gave a weak laugh and Kagome let Inuyasha inside her house.  
  
-  
  
Sango had calmed down and now she and Miroku were in a different world—the world of video games.  
  
"Yes!" Sango cheered as her racecar swept past Miroku's, beating him for the fifth time in a row.  
  
"Come on! You cheated!" he whined.  
  
Sango laughed. Then she said, "Hey, when do you think Inuyasha's gonna be back?" She frowned and stood to look at the clock.  
  
Sango had kicked a toy clown while getting up and now it was singing, "It's a Small World."  
  
She grinned. "Miroku, you really need to clean this room."  
  
"Yeah right. I'll betcha that you don't clean yours."  
  
Sango replied, "Well, my parents used to tell me, when I was expecting friends over, to go clean the house. And I would think, well, my friends like me for who I am. And if being messy is part of it, they should respect it...Sorry—" she smiled. "That was more detail than you needed."  
  
"No," Miroku insisted. "That's an awesome idea. Maybe I should try it sometime."  
  
Sango rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Oh, darn. It's seven already? I gotta go. See ya."  
  
Miroku watched her go, an unbelieving look on his face. A girl was just in his room! And he didn't even act perverted...This must be some kind of a miracle.  
  
"Miroku! Come down!" his mother hollered from the kitchen.  
  
He sighed. "Coming!"  
  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Miroku!" his mother glared. "Your room is a mess! Clean it! Now!"  
  
"Quit treating me like a baby," he whined. Wait. Maybe he should try some of Sango's philosophy.  
  
He repeated what she said, with a slight variation, so that it applied to him.  
  
"Hm...I'm impressed," his mother smiled.  
  
Victory! He mentally cheered and was about to head back up the stairs.  
  
"Oh, and Miroku?"  
  
"Yeah, Mom?" he said.  
  
"You still have to clean your room." 


	5. manga madness

Chapter 5: Manga Madness

-

Miroku frowned. It had _almost_ worked.

_I'll do it next time,_ he decided, running up the stairs.

He poked his head into his room. _This place really _is _a mess_, he thought.

Miroku's desk was piled with comic books and random doodles. A basketball rolled in his chair, and shirts were draped over it.

Clothes were dumped every which way and his schoolbooks were stacked in the corner. They were the only things organized it his room. Which figured, because he never used them.

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich lay on the floor.

"Ew," he thought, frowning in disgust.

"Wait, isn't this my third grade lucky key chain?" he said aloud, picking it up from under his pillow. "It is! And look, it's Mr. Bananas!"

Mr. Bananas was a gray stuffed monkey. It had one eyeball; the other was a sewed on button. Miroku grinned in delight, forgetting the candy he was chewing on, and it fell on the floor, adding to his pile of garbage on the floor.

"I think I'll clean this all later," he nodded, turning on his computer.

-

Inuyasha thought for a moment and scribbled down a few ideas while Kagome was puttering around in her tiny kitchen, trying to find snacks that she could spare.

He really didn't want to make her spend any _more_ money on him, when he knew he deserved nothing. "Um, I'm not really hungry," he told her.

Kagome looked relieved but tried not to show it. "No, that's okay, we have some food," she said weakly.

Inuyasha looked at her.

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Of course I am! Do you think I'm lying?" he snapped, defensively. So what if he _was_ lying? It was for Kagome's own good.

"Let me see your list," she said, ignoring his comment.

She shoved the piece of paper from his hands.

"How to earn lots of money fast," she read. "Get a job...beg...steal?!"

Even though it wasn't that funny, she burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh. To release all her anxiety for a moment.

"What?" he said, grinning. "I know the right people to steal from." He was happy to know that he could do _something_ right, even if his remark was stupid.

"But seriously," Kagome said. "Getting a job is the only way—the only _legal_ way—"she said pointedly, "to pay back the...um...thousands I spent."

He shrugged. "Job it is."

She handed him a newspaper. "Look for ads."

"What? Why me?" he pouted.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, fine."

After about fifteen minutes, just before Kagome was about to snatch the newspaper from Inuyasha and look herself, he said, "Aha! The 'A Little Bit of Everything' Store! Bonus pay for those who apply today!"

Kagome smiled. "That's perfect! Let's go!"

"Now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Bonus pay for those who apply today," Kagome quoted.

-

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Kagome frowned, looking around.

There was a hole in the wall, and half the roof was blown off.

"Hello?" a voice boomed. Inuyasha turned. A wrinkled old man with a cane and bug eyes stared at him.

"I'm Mr. Manager—yes, that's really my name—what can I do for you today?" he asked.

"We both want to apply for a job," Kagome started to say, fishing out her note cards she had written. It was cramped with tiny handwriting—her speech for the job interview.

"I think that we'd make great additions to this store because—"

"Great!" Mr. Manager interrupted. "You're hired!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kagome waited for the punch line, but none came.

"What?" Mr. Manager demanded. "We are very desperate here! The weirdest people come here."

Kagome and Inuyasha blinked.

"Why," he continued. "It seemed like just yesterday—wait, I think it WAS yesterday—when this pigtailed martial artist burst in here ahem, Ranma with a panda, a pig, and a cat!"

"Are they the ones that broke the roof?" Inuyasha joked, as Kagome stared.

Mr. Manager frowned. "No, that was the group with the girl, dog, cat, and rat." Fruits Basket

Kagome's mouth dropped slightly.

"Um, what exactly do you SELL here?"

"Everything," Mr. Manager smiled. "And you two are starting now."

-

Kagome flicked a piece of dust from the counter as she drummed her fingers impatiently. Inuyasha had picked up a comic book from the pile he was (supposed to be) sorting out and was now absorbed in it. Kagome could've sworn that you could hear the boredom radiating from the room.

Then she sighed, staring at clock. It had only been twenty minutes.

The manager had said that the store was full of excitement (and bruises), but so far, it had been a huge bore...

-

A boy with a red Chinese shirt and pigtails bounded in the shop with an old, fat man. The two were fighting, and other boy with a bandana was at their heels.

Inuyasha abruptly looked up and dropped the comic book. Kagome straightened.

In one breath, she smiled cheerfully and said, "Hi, I'm Kagome, welcome to this store, how may I help you today?"

"I'm Ranma, he's my pop, and this is P-chan—"

Bandana Boy whacked Ranma on the head. "Quiet, fool!" He yelled. "WHO'S P-chan?"

Kagome gasped, but Ranma's "pop" merely stared at them, bored.

Then, a girl opened the door. She had long, purple hair and a short skirt. A really short one. Shorter than Kagome's...

Arms flung out, she ran over to Ranma and hugged him. Hard.

"Wha—Shampoo?" he muttered.

"Shampoo! I really must protest—" a boy with huge glasses started to say. Unfortunately, the swinging door slammed shut, right on his face.

Inuyasha dropped his comic book and Kagome gaped. This seemed like a cartoon-like movie scene.

They had a feeling things would get more interesting.


	6. what just happened?

Chapter 6: What Just Happened?  
  
-  
  
Sango blew a strand of hair out of her face, frantically pressing the controller.  
  
She sighed in relief. Her video game character had escaped a near death.  
  
"No!" she yelled. She—her character, that is—had been pushed off the cliff, thanks to her brother.  
  
Sango frowned. The "game over" screen flashed in front her, only rubbing in her third loss. Miroku had been a pushover, but Kohaku was just the opposite.  
  
And Kohaku had beaten her twelve times today. It didn't take a genius to know that they'd been at it for a while.  
  
Kohaku pretended to look humble. Huffing, she got up and left the room, steaming.  
  
_Maybe I should call Miroku and start beating him up_, she thought. _Hold on, why do I even care about Miroku anyway_?  
  
Kohaku's voice echoed throughout the house. "I beat Sango! I beat Sango for the millionth time! Ha!"  
  
Sango glowered. _Then again, I think Miroku's gonna get beat up even more._  
  
Hunching her shoulders, she stomped over to the phone like she was on some huge mission.  
  
-  
  
Kagome watched, without blinking, as Ranma and Ryoga whacked each other.  
  
Next, two boys and a girl walked in.  
  
"Welcome to the store, I'm Kagome, how can I help you?" Kagome said, smiling. Inuyasha was certain that it wasn't the fake grin so many salespeople wore; she actually liked helping people. It made Inuyasha gag, but whatever.  
  
"Hi," the girl said. "I'm Tohru. This is Yuki—" she pointed at a boy with light colored hair, "and this is Kyou." She nodded towards a boy with bright orange hair and a smirk.  
  
_He and Inuyasha would get along,_ Kagome thought. _He looks like he never smiles. They can just not smile themselves to death.  
_  
Tohru was carrying a bucket of cold water. For what reason, Kagome didn't know.  
  
Yuki smiled, a glint in his eyes. "Hey, can you tell me where the cat leashes are?"  
  
In the backround, Kyou scowled and colored angrily. Tohru looked around nervously, as if she knew something was going to happen.  
  
"Oh sure," Kagome said. "It's over there..."  
  
"Yeah? Where are the _mouse traps_?" Kyou interrupted irritably.  
  
While Kagome tried to direct both of them at the same time, as to not offend her customers, whom she thought were feeling considerably grouchy today, Mousse came sauntering over to Shampoo, who was offering to buy things for Ranma.  
  
"Ranma! I challenge you!" he yelled, as he accidentally tripped over Tohru, knocking her water bucket over.  
  
Genma, lazily sitting in a chair, muttered, "Uh-oh."  
  
Shampoo jumped before the water hit her. It blinded her, and she unintentionally hugged Kyou and Yuki, thinking that they were Ranma.  
  
Kagome blinked. A second later, she saw a girl, a duck, a cat, a panda, a mouse, and another cat. [Coincidence, eh?]  
  
"What?!" she demanded. "What just happened?!"  
  
Inuyasha looked up from the Gameboy he had found...somewhere.  
  
"Huh?" he wondered aloud.  
  
"If I didn't know better," Kagome remarked to Tohru and Inuyasha, I'd say that they changed into those...things."  
  
Tohru sweat dropped [Like in the manga]. "Uh..."  
  
Then the girl on the floor yelled, "Eek! Cats! Two of them!"  
  
The panda, much to everyone's bewilderment, held up a sign, reading, "Ranma, you fool!" The pig now began biting the girl, who simply stared at it, undisturbed.  
  
"Ranma? Uh...isn't he a boy?!" Kagome yelled, while Tohru looked around and rubbed her eyes, making sure she was seeing properly.  
  
"Oh boy," Ranma sighed. "Sounds like we've got some explaining to do."  
  
-  
  
Sango dialed the number. For some reason, she felt nervous.  
  
_Goodness_, she thought. _It's just Miroku! It's not as if I_ like _him or anything..._  
  
"What?" a voice grumbled from the other line.  
  
"Uh, Miroku? This is Sango..." she said.  
  
He immediately sounded happier. "Oh, Sango. Heh, yeah, what would you like?"  
  
"Would you like to come over and play video games at my house?" Then she frowned. She could just imagine her brother singing, 'Sango's got a boyfriend!' at the top of his lungs, like he did the last time she brought a boy to her house for a project.   
  
"Or...scratch that, can I come over?"  
  
"Sure," Miroku said quickly. "Anytime."  
  
She grinned. Why was she so happy? Pushing whatever it was out of her mind, she hung up the phone, scribbled a note to her mother, and left the house.  
  
-  
  
Miroku, meanwhile, was making a mad dash for his room.  
  
"Must...clean...room..." he panted to himself, while screeching to a stop. Racing inside, he threw a bunch of clothes on the floor into his closet. He stuffed Mr. Bananas and a bunch of other toys under the bed. He threw his schoolbooks on his desk in a neat stack, hoping that it made him look smarter.  
  
_Yeah right_, he thought. _As if anything could make me smart.  
_  
He was practically setting a record for 'the most F's in a row.'  
  
Miroku changed into different, cleaner clothes, checking the mirror. He crossed his arms, posing, trying to look cool.  
  
It made him look plain stupid.  
  
He sighed. _Oh well_, he thought. He didn't even know why he wanted to impress Sango. He just did.  
  
Then the doorbell rang. It jolted him and sent a shock of reality through him.  
  
"It must be Sango," he told himself. Then, with one last glance at the mirror, he shoved the door to his room open and stomped down the stairs as quick as a cheetah and as loud as an elephant.  
  
He bumped into the door, panting. Then, collecting himself, he regained another pose, looking calm. He opened the door.  
  
"Hello," he said, in the most elegant voice he could imitate. "You may come in for some cookies and punch, too.  
  
"Really?" a voice squeaked.  
  
What? This wasn't Sango's voice. He looked down.  
  
'Uh-oh,' he thought.  
  
A little girl, whom Miroku thought was about nine or ten years old, with big glasses and pigtails holding a bunch of Girl Scout cookies looked up at him. "Also, before I come in, I need all my friends here, and would you like to buy some cookies?"  
  
"Uh, no thanks," he mumbled.  
  
"Aw, okay," she frowned. Then she glanced over to the sidewalk. "Come on! He says we can stop here for food!"  
  
A bunch of little kids ran up to his doorsteps, like a group of little hamsters. Miroku counted about ten.  
  
"Let us in! We want food!" they yelled.  
  
Miroku stared. Nothing else was being absorbed into his brain. Instead of thinking, 'What are my parents gonna do to me about this?', he was dumbly considering, 'Girl Scouts? Huh?'  
  
"Come on!" the first girl shoved Miroku out of the way, and she and her friends pushed each other inside, running into the kitchen.  
  
_Oh boy_, he thought. _Am I in trouble now._


	7. the plan

Chapter 7: The Plan  
  
Sorry. This chapter is short. And I don't think it's that great. Sigh Review! And um, the next chapter will be called, "A Rainy New Moon" cuz it has both Ranma and Inuyasha in it. Aint that cool?  
  
-  
  
"Yeah," Inuyasha muttered sarcastically. "How can you explain _this_?!" He pointed to the animals on the floor.  
  
Kagome blinked.  
  
"I'm outta here," he said disgustedly, kicking the orange cat and wincing as it hissed and clawed at him. "Cats suck!" he continued.  
  
"Yes, they do," Ranma agreed hurriedly.  
  
Inuyasha ignored him and left the store, huffing. "Kagome, I'll be at the comic book store."  
  
As soon as he was out of the door, Ranma commented, "Gee. Nice guy. What do you _see_ in him?"  
  
Kagome looked at him. "Explain."  
  
For some reason, she felt annoyed, offended, at Ranma for making fun of Inuyasha. But the feeling quickly washed away as she listened to Ranma and Genma argue. Finally, they stopped and told their story.  
  
Kagome and Tohru listened, wide-eyed. It would have been funny, too...if it weren't true.  
  
"But—but—that isn't possible!" Kagome stuttered. Tohru, on the other hand, accepted the explanation right away.  
  
"It isn't?" Ranma glared. "Look at me! And him! And the rest of us!" He—er, she—shoved the panda.  
  
Kagome stared, trying to absorb everything. How would you feel if you saw cold water change a person into a pig or something?  
  
"Uh, Tohru? Could you explain what happened to Yuki and Kyou?" Kagome hoped desperately that _their_ story was a little less bizarre.  
  
Too bad.  
  
After the _talking rat_ finished his tale, Kagome, bleary-eyed, felt like she could faint.  
  
"I think I've had enough excitement for today," she muttered dizzily. "Mr. Manager? I'm gonna take a break."  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha flipped through the stack of books, looking for something interesting. Nope. Nothing.  
  
_Whatever. I'll just pick something random_. Closing his eyes, he chose a magazine on the right.  
  
He was about to pick it up, when he noticed the title. "What?!"  
  
'Everything a Girl Needs to Know about Makeup and Boys,' it read.  
  
Inuyasha stared at it dumbly for a while.  
  
"Whatcha reading?" a voice asked.  
  
"Gyah!" he jumped. "Oh," he said, turning around. "It's just you."  
  
"What do you mean, it's just me?" Kagome frowned. "And what _are_ you reading?"  
  
She took the hot pink magazine from his hands. Then she laughed. Hard. All the tension she had felt during the last few days bottled up and shot out. _Laughter really_ is _the best medicine_, she thought to herself.  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha demanded, blushing. "It was on the floor—so I was gonna pick it up and—"  
  
"Yeah, sure, Inuyasha," Kagome rolled her eyes. "If you want makeup advice, ask me." Then she cackled, receiving stares from the other customers.  
  
Smirking, she pranced away from the aisle. "Come back. Our break is almost over."  
  
Inuyasha looked to the floor and followed her, dropping the magazine behind his back so that no one would notice.  
  
-  
  
Miroku closed his eyes and looked heavenward. 'Now what?'  
  
"Um," he said, smiling politely. "The cookies are outside..."  
  
Wordlessly, the girls headed towards the backyard and began eating.  
  
_Well, at least they're outside._  
  
Then, DING-DONG.  
  
Miroku frowned. Now Sango was sure to think he was a dork.  
  
Being melodramatic, he marched to the door. "Here I go to meet my fate."  
  
"Hi," Sango said breathlessly. "My parents weren't home and I kinda got lost so I ran over here and I probably stink of sweat, so sorry, and—are those your sisters?!"  
  
"Sisters?" Miroku frowned. "No way. Of course not."  
  
"Aw, too bad. I love little kids," Sango told him.  
  
Miroku perked up. "You DO?" Score one for him! "Well, actually," he amended. "They're my cousins. And since I love little kids—" he hated them deeply, "—I volunteered to baby-sit. For free, you know."  
  
"Really?" Sango seemed impressed.  
  
"So, before the video games, can we get some snacks?" Sango asked. "My brother was hogging all the chips."  
  
Miroku nodded. "Sure, sure. Right this way."  
  
After getting out Jell-O, cake, ice cream, cookies, brownies, and chips he and Sango sat down.  
  
"Wow," she said. "This is a LOT of food. I'm gonna gain so much weight, I'll become a blimp."  
  
"But," he said. "aren't you going to eat the food?"   
  
"Of course I am! Turn down food? Yeah, right!" she replied.  
  
"Good, good."  
  
Silence. Everything was so silent, except for the chewing noises of Miroku, who had this bad habit of being the world's loudest eater.  
  
"So." Miroku tried to fill in some conversation. "Um, where's Kagome?"  
  
"Oh," Sango said dismissively. "She and Inuyasha are doing something together."  
  
"They've been spending a lot of time together recently," Miroku's eyes sparkled.  
  
"They'd make a nice couple," Sango agreed.  
  
They stared at each other, smiling. Each had a million ideas floating in their minds.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Miroku shrugged.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha and Kagome strode through the door of the shop.  
  
"Mr. Manager! We're back!" Kagome called.  
  
After dealing with one customer, a crabby old lady who complained that Inuyasha was rude and stubborn, Ranma came to them.  
  
"Uh," he said sheepishly. (Yes, he's a HE again.) "Since it's my fault that, uh, Mr. Manager got annoyed with you—and he did, even if you didn't know it—I am being forced to offer you a job—ouch!—" he muttered as Genma whacked him. "I mean, I want to offer you a job at our house."  
  
Inuyasha looked at Kagome.  
  
"Well, the more jobs and the more money, the better." Kagome shrugged. "We'll take it."  
  
Miroku grinned. He looked up from the newspaper. "There's a fair and carnival thingy. We could invite them there. The more time they spend with each other, the better. And of course, we're gonna be there, too. Sound good?"  
  
"With a plan like that, they'd be sure to fall in love!"  



	8. a rainy new moon

Chapter 8: A Rainy New Moon  
  
I was re-reading me story and the scene change things disappeared! Sorry.  
  
Thank you, everyone who reviewed!!!!!! Heh. You DO know why I called this chapter "A Rainy New Moon", right? Sigh. I think this chapter is a bit boring. Yeah, it is. This one sucks. But the next one will be better.  
  
Note: Inuyasha's still half-demon in this story! And remember that he left before hearing Ranma's explanation. So yeah. And, um...I kinda forgot about her mom and cancer so I'm just sticking in some stuff as a reminder to the plot.  
  
-  
  
Kagome flopped on her small bed, staring at the light blue ceiling. It was so plain, yet so comforting. She blinked for a while, her head empty, then allowed herself to think.  
  
She had been forcing herself to think that if she got enough money, her mother would be saved, and things would become normal again. But that wasn't so. Her mom could still die. And Kagome and Souta would be left alone.  
  
Alone.  
  
The word churned her stomach and broke her heart.  
  
Is that what someone's death was, then? To realize that you could travel the world and not bring them back? To realize that you could climb the tallest mountain and not see them again? That you lost them? That nothing you can do can bring them back.  
  
Ever.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha snarled, glaring at the messy handwritten directions. Rather, paw-written. Stupid panda. Why couldn't Ranma have written them? Even HIS writing was better than any panda's.  
  
He walked a couple of steps, then, noticing that he was going backwards, retraced his steps and jogged the other way. Then he remembered that he had been there already.  
  
Inuyasha decided to re-read (for the fourth time) the directions. He sat on a creaky old bench.  
  
For some reason, his thoughts kept traveling back to Kagome. And he hated that. He hated how he felt. So guilty.  
  
What if he as well as killed her mom? Could she ever respect him again?  
  
Wait, why did he care about her respect anyway? It's not as if he...liked her.  
  
Pondering, thinking hard for an excuse, _any_ excuse, he finally decided that all people wanted to be respected, and that if he had prank called someone else and _not_ Kagome, he would have felt the same way.  
  
Excuse made, now to actually believe it.  
  
Disgusted with himself, he stalked up from the bench and continued wandering in circles.  
  
-  
  
Sango stared at her computer, waiting for something to happen. And she'd been doing just that for about an hour.  
  
She was bored. Completely, utterly bored.  
  
She closed her eyes and let her imagination take over. Then she had a sudden flash of inspiration. Maybe it was for a joke, but she thought it was a pretty good idea.  
  
Sango, being an incredibly good artist, whipped out a pencil and a sheet of paper and drew. She sketched a quick picture of Kagome's face and leaned back, admiring her work. She quickly sketched a shirt and some jeans.  
  
Then, pausing, she erased the jeans and changed them into a skirt. A really fancy one.  
  
Grinning evilly—one could swear that they could see devil horns—she drew a picture of Inuyasha.  
  
Instead of his usual stoical scowl, she made him smile. Which really freaked her out. The day Inuyasha smiled like that...well...it was just scary.  
  
Bursting out into tyrannical, hysterical, and evil laughter, she sketched a tuxedo.  
  
"Muahaha..." she laughed to herself, then snorted even harder when Kohaku was walking past, seeing her cackling evilly, and ran away like he had just seen a ghost.  
  
"Lovely."  
  
_Miroku has to see this_, she thought to herself.  
  
Without wondering why Miroku randomly popped into her head, she scanned the picture, humming the Barbie song, and emailed it.  
  
Feeling satisfied, she leaned on her chair; her feet propped on the desk, and grinned.   
  
-  
  
"Who cares about algebra anyway?" Miroku muttered. His eyes unfocused and the equations blurred. Now they were unclear physically as well as mentally.  
  
He snorted. _I give up!  
_  
And of course, when bored, go on the computer.  
  
He quickly logged in on his email account. Junk...junk...ads...ooh! Something from Sango.  
  
"Wow. Sango draws really, really well. And Inuyasha looks different. Except he looks the same."  
  
Ugh. Not only was homework confusing him, he was confusing himself.  
  
Whatever. He replied before reading her message, which reminded him that the carnival was tomorrow.  
  
He and Sango had bought tickets for themselves and Inuyasha and Kagome. He smiled. It was going to be so fun. Especially when Inuyasha and Kagome ended up being stuck together the whole time.  
  
-  
  
"Finally!" Inuyasha yelled. He had finally found the house.  
  
He glanced up at the sky, as if thanking the heavens. But if he wanted to thank them just then, the feeling was gone now.  
  
"New moon?!" he screamed hysterically.  
  
Splatter.  
  
"Rain?!" he hollered. "Goodness! I try to thank someone and this is what I get?" Cursing in his head, he closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He felt his claws shrink into tiny wimpy—or so he said—human nails. His ears disappeared and his hair became boringly black.  
  
Humans. Blech.  
  
Even moodier than usual, he stamped into the yard.  
  
"Ranma?" he called.  
  
A short redheaded girl bounded out.  
  
Each stared at the other. "Who're you?" they demanded.  
  
Inuyasha stared as if the girl was dense. "I'm Inuyasha."  
  
The look he gave was one received. "I'm Ranma."  
  
Inuyasha grumbled. "Do you think I'm stupid or something? If you wanted to think of a trick, make up a better one! One that someone can actually fall for! And quit lying. I came here for a job, and I'm gonna do it without distraction. Got it?" He glared.  
  
The girl grew rigid and defensive. "_You_ stop lying!"  
  
Ah, what pride can do to you. Ranma, too busy being insulted ("How dare he make fun of _me_?"), forgot that Inuyasha left before listening to him explaining his curse. Inuyasha, in a grumpy mood, is just angry.  
  
Inuyasha laughed. "Are you trying to fight me? You think a girl, a human girl, can beat me?"  
  
"Ranma" frowned. "Human?"  
  
They stared at each other coolly. Their eyes, fiery and angry, met. They circled, watching the other's every move.  
  
Inuyasha was biding his time, waiting to catch the girl off guard. Now!  
  
He punched...the girl dodged...  
  
_Darn it! She's good_, he thought to himself._ But I'll get her!  
_  
Unfortunately, he never did, for someone else got her first.  
  
BONK! A shoe hit the girl, knocking her to the floor. She got up again, nothing but a cartoonish bump on her head.  
  
"Ranma!" a short-haired girl yelled. "Are you taunting the guests again?"  
  
"Now do you believe me?" Ranma pointed.  
  
Inuyasha hated being contradicted. But he hated being wrong even more.  
  
Changing the subject, he asked, "Who's she?"  
  
"Oh, her? That's Akane. The macho chick. The tomboy."  
  
Ranma spoke indifferently, but Inuyasha could tell that he didn't mean it. Well, maybe he did, but he didn't mean to insult her so much.  
  
Inuyasha followed Ranma in. Ranma poured hot water on herself. To Inuyasha's surprise and great bewilderment, _she_ became a boy.  
  
"What in the world..." he demanded instead.  
  
Ranma slapped his hand on his forehead. "Oh!" A light bulb smacked him in the face, figuratively of course.  
  
"You weren't there when I explained!" he muttered dumbly. "Stupid of me."  
  
"Yep, you _are_ really stupid," Inuyasha commented.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma snapped.  
  
"What do you _think_ it means?"  
  
"How should I know?" Ranma yelled.  
  
"Why are you acting so stupid?" Inuyasha grumbled. "Fine, I'll tell you."  
  
"Fine."  
  
How idiotic they were acting, like immature brats, like little kids in a fight.  
  
"You're so stupid you don't even realize Akane's feelings. You keep insulting her. You don't even realize she likes you!" Inuyasha didn't know why he was so passionate about love. What Ranma did was his business.  
  
He glared. Ranma blushed, and didn't meet his eyes.  
  
So he DID know. He did know about Akane. But, being a boy, he wouldn't admit it. Instead, he hollered, "So what about you? _You're_ the one denying you feelings! You're the one who's too stupid to realize that..."  
  
Inuyasha tuned out. He was confused. Denying _his_ feelings? He didn't like anyone. And no one liked him.  
  
And that was the way he liked it.  
  
Right? 


	9. carnival craze, part i

Chapter 9: Carnival Craze, Part I  
  
Cool! I got reviews...lala...Oh yeah. If you're annoyed that all Kagome thinks about is her mom then I'll stop. But if YOUR mom were going to die, wouldn't you think about her too? (I think the carnival will have two parts.)   
  
-  
  
"_What_?" Kagome growled into the phone. It was Saturday morning, 7 AM, way too early for a phone call.  
  
"Jeez," Sango's familiar voice said. "A little cranky, are we?"  
  
Kagome scowled. "Whatever. Why are you calling me this early in the morning? You'd better have an excuse. And make it good."  
  
She could practically see Sango's apologetic smile, a smile that she'd seen so many times before.  
  
"Um. Well. There's a carnival today and me and Miroku are inviting you and Inuyasha." Sango begged, "Please think about it before you—"  
  
"No," Kagome interrupted.  
  
"But..." Sango protested, trying to think of something to say.  
  
"No," Kagome repeated.  
  
"But we already bought you tickets!"  
  
Kagome sighed loudly. She couldn't waste the money. She knew how valuable money was.  
  
Would she go and deliberately leave her mom to die? How selfish was she?  
  
Quietly, like a breeze of the wind, she could hear her mom's soft voice chiding her gently.  
  
Kagome could hear her, almost pleading, for her to go.  
  
Fun.  
  
When was the last time she was actually completely happy?  
  
Her mom would want her to be happy. Would want her to have fun.  
  
And that's what she was going to do.  
  
-  
  
Sango waited for Kagome to say something, as she tapped her long nails on the counter. "Kagome?"  
  
"I'm going," Kagome said decisively.  
  
Sango smiled. "Good. I'll pick you up in an hour."  
  
"K, bye," Kagome said, clicking off the phone.  
  
Sango grinned. Their plan was working! Well, okay, the only part of the plan they had started was to get Kagome and Inuyasha to the carnival, but still...  
  
-  
  
"Inuyasha, you stubborn idiot!" Miroku groaned.  
  
They were both at Miroku's house, as usual. Inuyasha scowled and flung Miroku's math book across the room.  
  
"I...will...not...go...to...a...carnival!" he yelled.  
  
Miroku shrugged. "If you think you can get me mad by throwing my textbook around...uh, no. That doesn't work. Or maybe you just have a hard time controlling your temper. Tsk. Such temper tantrums will never get you anywhere..."  
  
Inuyasha glared, his eyes fiery enough to melt steel. "What did you say?"  
  
Miroku backpedaled. No one should mess with Inuyasha. It was a lesson he learned the hard way. "Nothing, nothing."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Why won't you go to the carnival?" Miroku asked him.  
  
"Because—because—" Inuyasha clearly couldn't think of anything to say. "I just don't, okay?"  
  
"Kagome will be there," Miroku said matter-of-factly.  
  
Inuyasha spun on him. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
Miroku shrugged. "You should know."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go."  
  
Miroku smiled. "I knew the Kagome thing was going to work."  
  
Inuyasha lounged on the sofa. "No, I'm going to you'll shut up."  
  
-  
  
Kagome stood in line, waiting to get into the carnival. She couldn't see Sango or Miroku. But she did see a familiar flash of doggy ears.  
  
Peering backwards, she shouted and waved her arms. "Inuyasha! Over here!"  
  
Seeing her, Inuyasha shoved a bunch of people in his way and walked over to her, ignoring the withering glances he got from the crowd. "Can I cut?" he asked.  
  
Kagome laughed. "Sure." She was lucky; she came early and was in the first half to the long line.  
  
"Oh!" she pointed. "Look!"  
  
Inuyasha followed her finger and saw Hojo. The densest boy he had ever seen.  
  
"Aw, isn't he cute?" Kagome cooed.  
  
Inuyasha saw the old lady behind him look at the old man.  
  
Inuyasha felt a twinge of jealousy but brushed it off, mistakening it for disgust. Hojo was so not.  
  
"And his ears," Kagome cried.  
  
"His ears?!" Inuyasha blew up. "Kagome, what are you talking about?!"  
  
"Duh," Kagome frowned. "Hojo's dog."  
  
Inuyasha looked at Hojo again. Sure enough, he had a dog—a fat, drooling bulldog with a crooked yellow-toothed [teethed?] smile—on a leash. (Kagome thought THAT was cute?)  
  
Ugh.  
  
Inuyasha felt stupid.  
  
-  
  
Miroku and Sango were behind the two, dressed up as an old man and woman. They wanted to the a little kid thing...spying.  
  
Sango was careful not to look too much at Miroku. Every time she saw him, it made her feel like laughing.  
  
He was wearing overalls. He had covered his hair with a horrid orange cap—it was realistic; a grandfather trying to be cool, Miroku insisted—and glasses.  
  
"When do we get out of these stupid things?" Sango hissed at him, tugging her long really tacky skirt, which oddly reminded her of the curtains her family had thrown out years ago.  
  
-  
  
Miroku shrugged. Why was she asking him? He wouldn't know. They had a plan like a moth-bitten cloth—that is, a plan with many holes.  
  
"After the line, I guess," he whispered, smiling as he saw the jealous look in Inuyasha's eyes. Wait, was that jealousy, or was he trying to murder Hojo with a stare?  
  
Oops.  
  
-  
  
Sango frowned. Miroku was staring at Inuyasha sheepishly. What mistake did he make this time?  
  
"Come on," she said, dragging Miroku along. After Inuyasha and Kagome had paid and entered, so did Sango and Miroku.  
  
Sango stopped walking, though, when she realized that Miroku was not coming.  
  
"Miroku?"  
  
She sighed. It figured. He was making his way to a bunch of cheerleader girls with short skirts.  
  
God! Why was he such a pervert? (And he was dressed like an old man, too!)  
  
Sango, simmering with anger, decided she had best go get Miroku before he made a fool of himself...again.  
  
She really felt like whacking him with her cane.  
  
-  
  
"Where are Sango and Miroku?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
He saw Kagome's face fall a little. She was really sensitive. Did she think that he didn't want to be around her?  
  
He frowned. That wasn't really true.  
  
Being around her too much made him feel a bit nervous. Which annoyed him. He was supposed to be in control of his feelings. And Inuyasha didn't know WHY he was nervous either.  
  
Which made him more annoyed.  
  
"Miroku! Sango!" Kagome yelled, blasting his eardrums and interrupting his mind.  
  
He peered over her shoulder. Yep. That was them. Miroku, grinning, and Sango, steaming mad. [They had changed out of their old dudes outfits.]  
  
"Hi," Kagome greeted them.  
  
Sango's eyes were narrowed and she looked as if she could strangle Miroku, who didn't even notice.  
  
Miroku beamed. "Let the fun begin!"  
  
_Fun?_ Inuyasha thought. He glanced around at the cotton candy, the teddy bears, the arcades, and his friends. His friends, who were smiling like hyper clowns.  
  
_Oh God,_ he thought. _This is gonna be one long day..._


	10. carnival craze, part ii

Chapter 10: Carnival Craze, Part II [This will have three parts! I didn't know it would take so long!]  
  
Sigh. I'm getting fewer reviews. Sniffle. Sob. So please review! Oh! –Light bulb whacks me in the face- Is it because it's summer? When everyone's (except ours) school is over and everyone is doing fun things? Aha! Sigh. Probably not. I'm just trying to make myself feel better.  
  
I'm just going to randomly say something so...uh...did you know that this is my first fanfiction? Yeah you did. Okay, that's wonderful. Shutting up now.

To quote and change a Shakespeare line from Midsummer Night's Dream...

To all you writers with a lot of reviews: "Oh teach me how you write and with what art, you sway the motion of your readers' hearts."  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes when Kagome and Sango smiled. Some day this would be. He was sure it was going to suck.  
  
Especially if his friends were going to act like _that_.  
  
Already, he was starting to get sick. Well, he wasn't sure if it was the smell of cotton candy, but whatever it was, it was disgusting.  
  
He knew what he had in store for him, just by agreeing to come here.  
  
A day's worth of vomit-worthy rides, cheesy...well...cheesy everything, cloying cotton candy, and...  
  
Blech.  
  
-  
  
Kagome was excited. She was sure that this was going to be fun...really fun. But if Inuyasha planned on acting like a moody jerk...well, that was his problem, right?  
  
She wasn't going to let anyone ruin her day.  
  
Miroku told her, "Me and Sango are going to go find a map or something." He was walking away quickly. "And you guys will wait here _alone_." He stressed that last word, but no one really noticed, except Sango, who was giving him a sharp glance, as they briskly left.  
  
Kagome looked around, wondering what to do first. Her eye landed on a mom, a dad, and a little kid, looking happy...Looking like she had never been...  
  
Her eyesight blurred and her throat tightened. She silently cursed her sensitivity.  
  
No. She wouldn't cry. Not today, not now. Not when she had promised herself to have fun.  
  
A tear slipped down her cheek, reminding her that nothing ever went her way. She couldn't even stop herself from bawling.  
  
Why was Kagome even here? No one wanted her. No one cared for her. She didn't even have a family.  
  
So much for not ruining my day, she thought.  
  
She could hear her voice choking, "I think I'm going to leave...I don't...want to be here..."  
  
She was about to bolt, to run from the happy family causing her so much pain, when someone grabbed her arm.  
  
Kagome whirled around and saw Inuyasha. "Get off," she whimpered. She hated feeling so pathetic, and she probably looked the part, too. She didn't want anyone, especially Inuyasha, to see her like this.  
  
He looked down at her, his deep amber eyes locked on her brown ones. Though it somewhat made her nervous, she couldn't tear her gaze away. It seemed locked, fixed, on him.  
  
Great.  
  
She regained control, blinked, and blushing, looked away, waiting for an explanation. Was he going to make fun of her or something?  
  
"Don't go," he said quietly.  
  
Kagome felt her face flush; it was turning horribly scarlet. This wasn't the Inuyasha she knew and well...knew. Yet he didn't look as if he was joking.  
  
He looked as if he meant it but felt stupid saying it. Which probably summed up all his feelings.  
  
Kagome sighed. "Fine, I'll stay." She was too tired to fight.  
  
She could still hope that the rest of the day would be better.  
  
-  
  
Sango dragged Miroku away from the cotton candy stand, stomping her way over to the booths.  
  
She grabbed a map and shoved it at Miroku.  
  
"What? Why must_ I_ hold it?" Miroku protested.  
  
"Just shut up," she told him. "Let's go."  
  
She walked briskly over, back to where Inuyasha and Kagome stood not facing each other. They weren't speaking.

Sango groaned. _Well, _that _part of the plan sure didn't work._

Smiling nervously, Miroku, realizing the same thing, asked, "So, why don't we go on the roller coaster?"

Kagome smiled, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he followed them.

-

Inuyasha found himself in a long line, while the hot sun glared down onto him. Already, he could feel a sunburn. He shifted his position, looking at his friends' faces.

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome seemed pretty excited. Kagome was on her toes peering, looking for the start of the line. Sango was fanning herself with the map.

"We're almost there!" she squealed, receiving dirty looks from the goth couple in front of them.

They were now being shuffled onto the cool plastic seats of the ride. Somehow, he and Kagome had ended up together.

He was contemplating the thought when he was jolted back by the force of the ride starting.

Then he was rushing up...the wind was on his face, blowing his hair back (and into his eyes)...

And with a _whoosh_, he was falling...falling...his stomach turned over inside him and he thought that he would see his lunch again...

He wanted to cheer, to scream with all the other people on the ride but he didn't dare too. Not when his friends were going to die of shock. He hated that type of reaction. _'What? Inuyasha actually did something-or-other?'_

Inuyasha was shoved to the right, where he accidentally bumped into Kagome.

His face flushed, then the blush grew deeper when he realized that she had made him embarrassed. Inuyasha, the stoic. The guy who had no feelings.

How could a stupid girl suddenly change the way he saw things?

He refused to think about it.

_It's just the ride_, he thought. _The ride's making me feel woozy_.

As soon as the ride was over, Sango screamed in his ear, "Wasn't that fun?"

Inuyasha's heart was still pounding hard from the jolt and now his ear was ringing.

He stood up from the cart dizzily, only to sway...

He saw the ground before him, spinning...

Inuyasha groaned. _There is a reason I don't go on these types of rides_, he reminded himself.

-

Kagome's face was pink. She had yelled herself hoarse and was pleased that Inuyasha hadn't made a snigle nasty comment.

That was Inuyasha-speak for "That was cool."

_Or_, she thought. _Maybe the fact that he looks as if he's gonna throw up...maybe that's part of the reason too_.

Whatever. It wasn't important.

"Can we please please please get some ice cream?" Kagome turned to ask Sango, but she and Miroku had disappeared.

She sighed. Where were they off to now?

"Inuyasha?" she asked.

"What?" he snarled.

"Could I get some ice cream?" she asked, ignoring his rudeness.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he replied, taking her arm and dragging her along to the booth.

He quickly gaver her the cone.

"That will be five dollars," the pot-bellied man said.

Kagome paled. She didn't bring money. She didn't have any to spare. Oh god. This was so embarrassing. She didn't even have five dollars.

"I...I can't..." she tried to say.

Inuyasha noticed this too and without a second glance, he shoved some of his money into the man's hand.

A girl and her friend looked at one another. The first said, "Oh, how sweet. He lent her some money. I wish my boyfriend was like that."

Inuyasha blushed. _I am not her boyfriend_! he felt like shouting. Kagome was just as red.


	11. carnival craze, part iii

Chapter 11: Carnival Craze, Part III  
  
Heh. I swear, I didn't know there was going to be three parts.  
  
I am determined to finish this before I go to Taiwan so if this chapter sucks, I'm sorry. I'm gonna edit this later.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha was still horribly scarlet when he dragged Kagome by the wrist to Miroku and Sango.  
  
Miroku looked at his face. He didn't bother asking questions.  
  
"So," Inuyasha said quickly. "Shall we go on there?" He pointed to the arcade, very far away from the ice cream stand. "I hear it's good."  
  
Without waiting for his friends' answers, he walked towards it.  
  
Sango raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."  
  
-  
  
So Kagome found herself in a dark, loud arcade, full of whirring machines, games, and prizes.  
  
Little kids were swarming the ticket eater, each competing for the biggest prizes. Older kids were skulking around the corners doing who knows what.  
  
And Miroku and Inuyasha?  
  
No, they weren't acting like they were too good for this.  
  
They were yelling and challenging the other to video games. God, even some younger kids were staring at them weirdly.  
  
Inuyasha was even more competitive than Sango and Kohaku were.  
  
And if you were worse than sibling rivalry, you've got a problem.  
  
-  
  
Sango sighed. She watched Inuyasha beat Miroku. Again.  
  
She looked over to Kagome, who had an identical expression on her face.  
  
"Wanna do something?" she asked.  
  
Kagome nodded.  
  
They wandered off.  
  
Soon, they were car racing. Kagome, who had practically never played a video game in her life, was terribly behind.  
  
Sango was on her fifth lap while Kagome had been overlapped three times. Sango watched as Kagome fell off a cliff, and right after she got back up, fell down again.  
  
Sango laughed. Kagome attempted to glare, but couldn't help laughing too. Soon, they were both infected with "the giggles" and cackled helplessly as they watched all the other computer cars pass by their characters.  
  
People walked by them quickly.  
  
Kagome thought it was funny. People were afraid of her. Her, the shy, quiet, and (usually) calm one.  
  
Sango was probably used to it. She was quite violent...slightly maniacal sometimes.  
  
Inuyasha and Miroku appeared behind them. "Shall we go do something else?" Miroku asked, finally tired of being beaten.  
  
Sango and Kagome nodded.  
  
"Actually, I'm kinda hungry," Sango said.  
  
"Yeah, let's eat," Kagome added.  
  
"Fine," Inuyasha huffed. Kagome guessed that he still wanted to beat Miroku up.  
  
All four of them walked over to the nearest resteraunt-booth thingy.  
  
"Hello," a chipper voice said from the counter. "May I help you?"  
  
Kagome frowned in confusion. "Hojo? What are you doing here?" [A/N: Ha. Happy, Supriyasha? I'll just make him pop up randomly.]  
  
"Oh, I work here," Hojo replied cheerfully.  
  
Inuyasha looked a bit angry, in Kagome's point of view. _Every time he sees Hojo, he looks like that_, Kagome realized.   
  
_ Is he jealous?_ She shrugged it off though, thinking that probably Inuyasha hated Hojo for a reason other than her. She was a little upset at that. Sometimes it seemed as though Inuyasha might like her. But of course, she was wrong.  
  
Like that was hard to imagine.  
  
-  
  
Inuyasha frowned. Stupid Hojo. Then he frowned again, wondering why he was so angry.  
  
_Why do I hate Hojo so much?_ he wondered. _He hasn't done anything to me. He doesn't even talk to me!  
_  
"Can I have some French fries and a hot dog?" Inuyasha grumbled rudely.  
  
Hojo didn't notice. "Well," he bubbled. "They're not called French fries; they're called Funky fries! And it's not a hot dog; it's a happy dog!"  
  
Inuyasha held back a laugh, trying to change it into a cough. Only it ended up as a demented hiccup-laugh. _Funky fries?! Happy dogs?!  
_  
If Inuyasha held in his amusement any longer, he would've cracked a rib or two.  
  
-  
  
Kagome groaned. Why did Inuyasha have to be so grumpy? Here Hojo was trying to be nice and Inuyasha starts laughing at him.  
  
Although, she had to admit that the happy dog thing was a bit lame. Oh, who was she kidding?  
  
It was completely lame.  
  
"And can I have a Coke?" Miroku asked.  
  
"I want one too," Sango added.  
  
Kagome looked at the menu. "And I'll have a cheese pizza slice."  
  
Hojo went out the back to get it for them. Inuyasha took that as the moment to crack out, "Oh no. It's a Cuckoo Coke and a..." he paused. "A...cheese-ily named pizza slice."  
  
Then he burst out into a fit of maniacal laughter. Kagome rolled her eyes at him. The only person he would ever entertain was himself.  
  
-  
  
An hour later...  
  
"Here Sango," Miroku said with a grin. "These are for you."  
  
Sango found herself carrying a huge stuffed monkey, a dog, and a pig. Miroku and Inuyasha were competing again. Only this time, they were trying to see who could get the most stuffed animals.  
  
Sango blushed, wondering why she felt nervous. "Thanks, Miroku."  
  
Kagome was lugging a bird, a gigantic starfish, and a neon pink octopus Inuyasha did have the weirdest taste in stuffed animals...  
  
Though Sango had to admit that it was sweet of Miroku and Inuyasha to give their prizes to them, even if it was just because of, so they said, that they had nowhere else to put them.  
  
-  
  
Kagome left the carnival, tired, exhausted, yet happy. Her clothes-- along with everyone else's--were drenched, thanks to that water ride; she was dizzy because of all the roller coasters, though she didn't look that bad compared to Inuyasha, who was sickly green. Her feet were sore from all the walking, and she was full from the "cheese-ily named pizza slice."  
  
She was glad she came and didn't regret it at all.  
  
She reached her house and slumped onto the couch. Then she leaned over to play all her messages, feeling an odd sense of deja vu.  
  
"Hello, Kagome Higurashi, this is from the Miracle Hospital, reminding you that your mother needs to be moved from this hospital in two months time." 


	12. i said yes

Chapter 12: I Said Yes  
  
Aha! Almost 100 reviews! Yay! Anyhow, like I said, I got back from Taiwan and my bug bites itch.

Sigh. I dunno why this story isn't getting as many reviews per chapter as my other one. Maybe cuz my other one has humor and stuff. Sniff. I worked so hard to make this one sound not stupid... Anyhow, I'm going to try to make this chapter extra long for the reviewer "IT'S ME". If it's not this chapter, then it will be the next. Sorry!

But I...I suck at romance. Sorry. :D Ahhh! Someone help me! I've never written romance before!

Many many many many apologies.  
  
-  
  
Kagome had never saved up so much money. She had never been so cheap before.  
  
She had never eaten a meal made up of Costco samples. She had never pretended to work on an airplane just to take some airplane food and drinks. She had never walked into a store acting like she wanted to buy something when in reality she went in for the air conditioning. She had never looked into soda machines for extra change either.  
  
And the bills she had to pay had never been so low.  
  
-  
  
As Kagome was heading for her daily shower at the gym (well, it's cheaper than using her own water) she smelled the grossest thing she had ever smelled. Two guys with leather jackets were smoking.  
  
_Ugh.  
_  
She could barely breathe. Holding her nose, she fanned the air in front of her frantically.  
  
The two guys were pointing at her and laughing. Probably because she was acting like a little kid.  
  
She glared at them, disgusted. Idiot smokers. "You know," she said loudly. "Smoking harms yourself, people around you, _animals_ around you, _and_ the environment. What worse combination _is_ there?"  
  
Then she spun on her heel, leaving the two guys gawking with their mouths hanging open.  
  
"Oh, by the way," Kagome smiled sarcastically, facing them again. "Close your mouths. You wouldn't want your cigarettes falling out, now would you? They might make a fire. Oh boy does smoking stink—literally and figuratively."  
  
The boys blinked closed their mouths.  
  
-  
  
Sango sighed. She was in charge of the decorating committee for the end-of-the-year dance. Even though that was four months away, she and Miroku—another committee member—were to go to the mall and buy the decorations.  
  
Why Miroku of all people? Why the pervert? Especially since she got unexplainably nervous and tongue-tied around him.  
  
But of course, it's not as if she liked him.  
  
Grumbling, she got up before she confused herself further and went to call Miroku.  
  
-  
  
Sango peered at the decoration store. According to the commercials, it was supposed to be the very best, but all she saw was some outdated Halloween kids party stuff.  
  
_Blech._  
  
Miroku shrugged. "Different store?"  
  
Sango agreed in a hurry.  
  
As soon as they got outside, they were bumped and pushed aside by three blond girls with snooty expressions. They had on the latest styles and wore makeup by the ton.  
  
Sango grimaced. She turned to Miroku. "Ugh. Look at those snots. They think they have the right to push us aside?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Miroku? Miroku!"  
  
She looked at him. He was making his way to the girls, looking so innocent that anyone who saw him would know that he was up to something.  
  
Sango didn't wait to find out what he had planned. She already knew. Steaming with jealousy—wait, rage—she stomped up to Miroku and hit him on the head, sending him tumbling onto the floor.  
  
"Wait, no, Sango dear," Miroku protested, while being dragged onto the elevator, "I didn't mean it! I was just...er...having fun?"  
  
"Having _fun_?!" Sango demanded, her eyes turning dangerously red.  
  
"Yes, yes," Miroku continued, oblivious. Then, seeing Sango's scowl, tried to get himself out of the mess and only ended up making things worse (for Sango). "I...uh...only did it cuz they thought I was cute? Don'tcha think?"  
  
Sango raised an eyebrow. "They _definitely_ did not think you were cute."  
  
Miroku's face fell and Sango immediately felt bad.  
  
Then he looked up again, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "But do _you_ think I'm cute?"  
  
Sango's eyes widened. She looked down at her feet and mumbled something.  
  
Miroku smiled smugly. "Yes?"  
  
Sango's face was as red as a tomato, maybe even worse. "_I said yes_!"  
  
-  
  
"Okay," Kagome said to Inuyasha. "Remember when I told you that writing and getting published is another way to earn money?"  
  
"Yup," Inuyasha said, his gaze super glued to the TV at his house.  
  
_Oh well. Forget him._  
  
She had come home one day to find her mailbox flooded with letters from random magazines. She didn't know that she had even written that many. And Kagome was waiting for Inuyasha to see them before she had opened any.  
  
But whatever. She was just going to start now.  
  
Ten letters in total (_Reader's Digest_, _Time_, _The_ _Mercury News_, and such). Each for _fifty dollars_.  
  
"Inuyasha! I made five hundred dollars!" Kagome yelled.  
  
Inuyasha didn't look up.  
  
"Inuyasha! Your house is on fire!" Kagome tried.  
  
Nope, didn't work.  
  
"Inuyasha! Look! They're handing out free video games!" she hollered.  
  
Inuyasha jumped up. "Where, where, _where_?"  
  
Kagome looked at him. "Okay, now that I have your attention...you got a letter too!"  
  
Inuyasha frowned. "No free video games?" With a disappointed sigh, he hopped back onto the couch to watch TV.  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. She tore open the letter.  
  
_Inuyasha,  
Thank you for your submission. We are happy to announce  
that your poem is going to be published in the next edition of  
_ Highlights_! We are including your $50 check.  
Thank you,  
The _Highlights _Team_  
  
Kagome blinked. _Highlights_? As in, the magazine for _children_?  
  
"Oh look. His poem. I wonder what he wrote. He told me that it took him two weeks to write, and that he slaved over it and edited it for three hours. Must be good."  
  
She began to read:  
  
"There once was a dog named Ben,  
Who screamed as he sat on a hen.  
He jumped so high,  
He touched the sky,  
And couldn't get down again."


	13. lucky seven

Chapter 13: Lucky Seven

Thanks to everybody who reviewed! You guys are the best. A HUNDRED (and twenty-one) REVIEWS! YAY!

This is a super-long chapter (2000 words), for my reviewers, just because of my hundred and twenty one. So I better get a lot of reviews for this one. _Please_?

-

Inuyasha beamed. "Yep. Isn't it great?"

Kagome stared at him in disbelief. _That_ was his "deep and meaningful" poem? How could Inuyasha have spent three hours editing a five-lined poem when he didn't even play video games for three hours straight? (He played video games for an hour, Gameboy for the next, and had a snack for the last, but that was beyond the point...)

_It's horrible_, she thought. So she said the only thing that she could.

"It's great," she lied.

"And I also made another one," Inuyasha said. "Just now."

"Let's...um...hear it," Kagome replied, sounding like a kindergarten teacher and hoping that this poem was better than the other.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and began. "The first and third line rhyme and the second and fourth rhyme. Anyway..."

"There once was a fat little monkey,  
Who lived in the middle of France.  
He loved to dance and act funky,  
For he danced with ants in his pants."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. Apparently, Inuyasha had a very different idea on the meaning of "deep".

She forced a smile. "That was wonderful, Inuyasha, but we really need more money. you send that in the mail quickly?"

He did as he was told. "You know," he said. "I have a great idea on how to make money fast."

Kagome stared at him, trying to look stern. "It better not be begging, Inuyasha. Remember when _you_ did that? All you _got_ was a dollar and a bubble gum wrapper."

"Or," Kagome continued, though she couldn't help but grin. "When you got kicked out of McDonalds because you ate all the fries, spilled Sprite on that customer's poodle, and _then_ you decided to make fun of the fast food companies by asking, '_Want fries with that_?'"

"_Or_," Kagome began, then stopped.  
  
Inuyasha grinned sheepishly. Kagome looked at him suspiciously. Maybe his idea would actually be reasonable. For _once_.

"So," Kagome asked. "What _is_ your idea?" She partly didn't want to hear the answer. _Please let this be a good idea. Let it be a _sane_ idea. Please..._

"Well," Inuyasha began. When he had thought of it, it had seemed like a great idea, but now he wasn't too sure. Especially since it was difficult to manage, based on luck, could be more harmful than helpful, and it was illegal.

But other than that, it was a perfectly fine plan.

-

"Well?" Kagome prompted. Inuyasha hadn't spoken for a while; he'd just stood there gaping like a fish.

Inuyasha seemed to come out of his reverie. His head snapped up and he replied, "Well. Um. See." Then he blurted really quickly, "there's this place that just opened up and we can go _gambling_!"

-

After Sango had stopped imitating a tomato and after Miroku had stopped grinning smugly (it took him five minutes), Miroku turned to her. Her heart beat twice as fast as it normally did. She couldn't help staring at him, but blushed and looked away as soon as she realized what she was doing.

"Sango?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah?" Was he going to ask her out or something?

"Shouldn't we first pick a theme for the dance?" Miroku asked. [They will get together soon though!]

"Oh." Sango felt a bit disappointed, but she would get over it. Right now the dance was more important. "An end-of-the-year-ish theme? Or maybe a summer theme, or..."

"No, those are stupid," Miroku said. "We should have a video game theme!" After all, couldn't you imagine a formal dance with a video game theme? Then he abonded that idea when a thought flashed through his mind.

"Wait, if we have a summer theme, does that mean the girls have to wear swimsuits?"

Miroku didn't get to look at Sango's face before he fell to the ground with an abnormally large bump on his head.

-

Kagome spit out her soda, the soda that Inuyasha had bought for her. Inuyasha jumped out of the way, scowling.

"_What_ did you say, Inuyasha? Did you know that that is illegal? And we're probably going to suck at it, or get caught. Both ways end up as us _paying lots of money_. That's the _opposite_ of what we want!" Kagome ranted.

"Please, Kagome?" Inuyasha whined, sounding like Souta. "Please, please, please? Besides, I'm very lucky. I could win something."

Then Kagome sighed. "However, it seems as if I have no choice."

"So you're gonna come?"

"Unfortunately."

"Come on, let's go!" Inuyasha said excitedly, like a hyper child. "We'll need disguises of course, so we'll look older." (Here, Kagome had scoffed, "Disguises? How childish.")

"I can't wait," Kagome muttered dryly.

Inuyasha dragged Kagome to his house, her sarcasm lost on him.

-

Kagome gasped in wonder as she entered Inuyasha's mansion. It was old-fashioned, the ceilings so high up, a glass sparkling chandelier hanging down from them. The perfect light pink walls were decorated with Renaissance styled paintings. The room was too perfect, too neat, but still gave a sense of homeliness.

A marble statue sat near the kitchen and a large fireplace burned nearby. A winding staircase led upstairs.

Kagome was even more amazed as she climbed up. Even the bathrooms seemed bigger than Kagome's whole room.

"So what are we going to dress up as?" Kagome asked, hoping that this would make some sense.

"As my mom and dad, of course," Inuyasha smiled, proud of his brilliance.

A_nd I was half expecting him to pick up a clown outfit_, Kagome smirked to herself. _Hold it. We have to act like a _couple? She scowled.

Fifteen minutes later, Kagome found herself in a very long and fancy purple dress that probably costed more than all of her clothes put together, and a hairstyle that looked like a beehive on her head.

Inuyasha was wearing a suit that made him look quite nice actually. He was wearing a black tie and kept pulling at it.

"This is how your parents dress, every single day?" Kagome asked, her high-heels already hurting her feet.

"Yes," Inuyasha replied, tugging the tie. "We should act proper and elegant too; that's how my mom and dad act."

Kagome snorted. Inuyasha acting like a gentleman was a bit hard to believe.

-

After deciding the theme [which you guys, my reviewers, are going to do!] and buying the materials, Miroku and Sango took a break at the food court.

"So...how's Inuyasha?" Sango asked, sipping her soda quietly.

Miroku took a huge bite out of his burger. "He's still trying to help Kagome with the money thing." He let out a burp, making Sango wince and hit him with a napkin.

Sango frowned. She had felt so guilty. Her best friend's mom was dying and she hadn't helped a single bit. Miroku shifted in his chair, and Sango knew he probably felt the same way.

"We should do something to help them," Sango suggested, hoping she was right about what Miroku was feeling.

"Like what?" Miroku wanted to know. So she _was_ right.

"I don't know...a fundraiser?"

"A bake sale?" Miroku blurted.

Sango's eyes sparkled. She loved to cook. And she loved to bake even more. "Miroku, you are a genius!" she exclaimed, and she resisted the urge to hug him. "Since we _are_ at the mall, we can get all the supplies we need."

Miroku nodded, pleased that he had done something right. "Although, I have to warn you that I'm not the best baker." _Especially since I don't even know _how_ to bake..._

-

Kagome pranced into the casino. Though she was nervous inside, if someone was looking at her, they would've seen Inuyasha's famous and rich mother, snootily entering a casino.

Inuyasha was acting as though he owned the place. With his arm linked through Kagome's—it wasn't _his_ idea—he walked up to that guy in the counter. How was he supposed to know what that guy was called (if he had a special name)? It wasn't like he was an expert on gambling anyway. [Neither am I, so this will sound like a grown-up's arcade.]

"Some coins, please," Inuyasha stated coolly.

The guy stared at him, his mustache twitching. "Who are you?" he grunted, reminding Kagome of a hog that she'd seen in a farm once.

Kagome gasped, pretending to be offended.

"He doesn't recognize us," Inuyasha scoffed. "_honey_," he added, choking on the word.

"How could he not, _dear_?" Kagome coughed, looking sick.

"Who _are_ you?" he demanded, peering at them suspiciously.

[Pretend Inuyasha's last name is Takahashi, cuz I'm too lazy to think of another.]

"I," Inuyasha said proudly, "am Mr. Takahashi."

The pig man's attitude changed at once. "Oh, sir, Mr. Takahashi, I am so very sorry, so very sorry indeed. You and your lovely wife, have a nice time," he said, practically groveling at their feet. "And here's your coins, sir."

Inuyasha smirked and winked at Kagome, who rolled her eyes at him.

He walked up to a slot machine and looked at it, staring at it up and down, not knowing what to do. "Um. Okay. I guess I'll start...playing."

He sat on the seat, put in a few coins, and turned the crank.

-

Sango grabbed a whole bunch of cookie dough, sugar, and every other baking supply that she saw and tossed it to Miroku. Fortunately for him, she was an expert in the kitchen.

Miroku stood nearby, just about covered in the brown sugar and flour boxes that Sango had shoved to him. He could barely see where he was going and walked where he thought was the cash register.

"That'll be twenty-two dollars and fifty cents."

Sango reached into her purse but Miroku grabbed his wallet and paid first.

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

He grinned. "To return the favor, _you_ can carry all the bags," he said, shoving three of them to her.

Sango rolled her eyes but took the bags, thinking about how nice Miroku had been.

-

An hour later, Kagome had enough of the slot machines. She closed her eyes and saw nothing but spinning cherries, sevens, and random bars.

She walked over to Inuyasha, showing him her winnings, which, fortunately, were more than what she had started out with.

Counting the coins, she accidentally bumped into a policeman, who was patrolling the area.

"Whoops, sorry," Kagome said quickly. The policeman gave her a suspicious look. That wasn't what Inuyasha's mom would say, was it? Then, mentally slapping herself, she amended, "Pardon me, sir," with a cool and curt nod.

The policeman nodded and let her go. _Whew_.

"Inuyasha," she hissed. He was gaping at the screen of his machine, which was whirring loudly with clinking coins dropping from it. Kagome waited for the coin-dropping to stop, but it didn't.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

His finger shaking, Inuyasha pointed to the slot machine.

Kagome gasped.

-

Sango hummed while taking a few cupcakes out of the oven. Miroku, whom she didn't trust in the kitchen (he had burned himself three times in a minute and then spilled sugar all over himself), was counting everything that she had made.

"You've got fifty cupcakes, thirty brownies, and a cake," he informed her. "And we should sell soda and lemonade too," he added.

An hour later, they had made a stand and a sign that read "_Bake Sale For a Good Cause—Buy something and help a cancer patient_" and was selling rapidly.

Miroku wondered what kind of people lived near Sango, as one man had bought five cupcakes for his bulldog, and one woman bought a can of soda to water her lawn.

Miroku watched as money piled up in his box. Sango beamed brighter with each customer and soon had to go back inside her house to bake more things, leaving Miroku to earn money.

"Umm..." Then he had an idea. It was stupid, but little kids would like it.

"Okay, you kids wanna play a game?" Miroku asked. Every kid in the line nodded.

"Umm...we're going to play...'Dunk the Monkey'!" he announced, grabbing an ugly plastic monkey he randomly found in his pocket. "You try to hit the monkey with a quarter and if it falls into this box..." Miroku picked up the money box. "Then you win a free cupcake!" _Thank God I'm good at making things up as I go along_...

Then, as an afterthought, he quickly added, "but I get to keep your quarter." _So it's not exactly a free cupcake, is it_?

Miroku found himself with hundreds of quarters all over the booth. Just like a metal detector, he picked up every single one and dumped them into his now overfilled box.

And soon Sango found a bunch of kids throwing coins at a monkey.

-

"Inuyasha," Kagome began slowly. "Is that really..."

Inuyasha came out of his stupor. "Yep! It really is _three sevens_! 777!"

_This can't be happening. You can't get a 777 in these slot machines. You just can't_, Kagome thought, though she wanted it to be true.

"Oh yeah!" Inuyasha cheered. "I rule! I'm lucky! Muahaha! Bow down to me, inferior gamblers!"

Kagome looked at him. She was excited too, of course, but the policemen kept staring at them.

"I think we've had enough gambling for today, _dear_," she said pointedly.

Inuyasha caught on. "Right. I mean," he whispered, "now that I won one million dollars..."

Kagome dragged Inuyasha away.

-

Meanwhile, two policemen walked to the slot machine Inuyasha had been playing on.

"Isn't this the broken one?" one asked another. "The one that gives you three sevens each time you play?"

The other policeman nodded.  
  
"And that guy, the one playing on it...wasn't Mr. Takahashi, was it?"

The policeman shook his head. "Get them!"  
  
-

Yay! I liked this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading this. :)


	14. immorally in moral court

Chapter 14

Sorry for the slow update... School started some time ago and my computer is THE SPAWN OF SATAN!!!!!!!!!! (ahem) so yeah...

Since I took so long, this will be a longer chapter. Hooray! ...Right?

-

Inuyasha walked slowly, trying to keep his gloating to himself. Of course, it was especially hard when you're normally an obnoxiously loud person, as Inuyasha himself was. Kagome was sick of him already, and her stupid dress and high-heels weren't exactly helping.

Then she heard a shout from behind them. It sounded somewhat familiar but she couldn't place it...

Turning slightly, Kagome's eyes widened as she realized who was chasing them.

Inuyasha paused. "What?"

Kagome opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted again by a shout.

"Get them!"

Inuyasha gaped, the wheels—or wheel—in his mind turning. "Those are the...those are the police officers in the casino!"

Realization smacked Kagome in the face but she couldn't gather her thoughts to form a complete sentence because before she could even process the information, Inuyasha had grabbed her arm and dragged her into a costume store, crouching behind a costume rack.

Was she _supposed_ to be understanding this?

Inuyasha, shaking badly, picked up the first two costumes that he saw, ignoring another lady asking them, "aren't you guys a bit old for Halloween? Besides...Halloween was practically half a year ago."

Kagome glanced nervously outside the door. The police officers, one short and chubby, was trailing after the tall, thin one.

"Here," Inuyasha said suddenly, handing her a ballerina costume—complete with a pink tutu and matching headband.

"I'm supposed to wear _this_?" she sputtered. The skirt was even shorter than the one on her uniform and she'd seem like the world's biggest loser for wearing it.

But then again, she must look like a loser now, with a beehive on her head and wearing a purple tent...

"What about you?" she asked him.

Blushing slightly, he pulled out a bumblebee costume from behind his back. "It was all they had left," he mumbled.

Kagome choked back a laugh and thanked her lucky stars she had a decent costume.

"So...we'll get changed and then..."

"Run," Inuyasha supplied.

-

Sango slumped to the floor, glaring at Miroku, who in fact had made as much money with his dunk-the-monkey game as they had in the actual bake sale.

Which, Sango was proud to say had been a complete success.

And then, of course, while Miroku had flirted with a bunch of pretty girls, she was the one who had counted all the money.

Yeesh. Miroku had practically forced her to admit that she liked him and now he wasn't even going to _do_ anything about it?

Sango clenched her fist, remembering a moment too late that she had money in her hands. Sheepishly, she plucked the five-dollar bill from her hand, straightened it out, and put it away neatly, in the tiny green box she had found randomly in her garage.

A hundred and seventy-five dollars. From a bake sale.

Sango grinned gleefully.

She made a tiny check in her mental checklist. Bake sale. Check. Getting Inuyasha and Kagome together...almost. Getting Miroku to ask her to the dance...

Not quite.

_But he will_, Sango thought decisively. _He will_.

-

Kagome glanced at herself in utter disbelief. Stupid costume. Stupid pink tank top with a stupid pink skirt. Stupid pink headband. Stupid ballet slippers.

Tapping her foot, she waited for Inuyasha. At that moment, he stepped out in complete disgust.

Kagome's eyes widened and she was practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Don't say a word," Inuyasha muttered through clenched teeth.

Inuyasha had on a headband with antennas sticking out that jingled whenever he moved. His stinger in the back bobbed up and down and his body was covered in black and yellow stripes that seemed like a tablecloth gone wrong.

Inuyasha, forgetting that he was in a bee costume, stared at Kagome, who in his opinion didn't look half bad.

Scowling, he mentally beat himself up. He couldn't be crushing on Kagome—he choked on the words—at all time like this.

Actually, he couldn't be crushing on her at all. Not when...

Pushing the crazed thoughts of out his mind, he walked forward, taking Kagome with him, and tried to ignore his jingling antennas and the stares from other people.

Kagome tensed; the policemen were now coming up to them.

Inuyasha's heart beat faster than a marathon run could sprint.

"Hey kids," the fat man said to them, completely ignoring their horrendous outfits, to Inuyasha's delight. "Have you seen a weird lady with huge hair? And a strange man with cat ears?"

_They're dog ears_! Inuyasha wanted to yell. Clamping his mouth shut just in time, he told him tightly, "you should check the girls bathroom."

_Revenge_, he thought with a smile.

Kagome glanced at him sharply but said nothing. She didn't dare to. Instead she nodded and grinned innocently, feeling her face heat up.

The two officers nodded politely and entered the ladies room. Inuyasha heard a high-pitched scream followed by an angry yell.

...And then an extremely loud _slap_.

Kagome winced, reminded of Miroku and Sango.

Inuyasha smiled triumphantly; then, he realized that the officers would be coming out any minute now...and what would happen if they were caught?

There was only one thing left to do now: make a run for it.

Then the bumblebee and ballerina raced across the neighborhood like escaped convicts to safety.

-

Kagome flopped on Inuyasha's couch, which was as big as a king-sized bed, when she found a small green box. Curiously, she opened it, not expecting what was inside.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said, turning to him. "Look at this!" She handed him the box.

His eyes widened. Inside was one hundred and seventy-five dollars. Taped to the box was a note.

_To Kagome and Inuyasha,_

_This is the money we made from the bake sale. I felt bad that I had done nothing for your mom._

_-Sango_

_(Miroku would like to add that he was the one who came up with the idea—that's not true—and that he was the one who made most of the money—that's not true either..._)

Kagome's eyes had been brimming with tears over the beginning.

Inuyasha scowling. Stupid sappy girls. He cleared his throat, changing the subject. "I know another way to get money."

Kagome looked up at him. "What?" she sniffled.

"Moral court," he said, waiting for a reaction similar to "you're brilliant!" before he continued. However, Kagome just stared at him blankly.

"Well, whoever wins a case gets money. The more outrageous the case, the more money you get. And if we go, it doesn't matter who wins, right? We still get the money!" Inuyasha rushed through his explanation.

Kagome's eyes widened. "So the stupider the case, the more money?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Yeah, and I've got the perfect case too! Okay, so I'm suing you because I spilled coffee on your jacket."

Kagome blinked. "What?"

"Stupid, huh?" Inuyasha asked proudly. "Yeah, and since we're obviously gonna win either way, we'll have eight thousand dollars extra."

-

The judge, who was extremely short, stood up from his seat (which was a chair and three encyclopedias stacked on top of each other) not to greet them, but to rush them into giving their "case", if you could even call it that.

Kagome went first. They had agreed that she should sound professional, and that Inuyasha would sound stupid. To emphasize that point, he had come into court in his pajamas.

As soon as Kagome had gotten over the shock of seeing Inuyasha in polka-dotted red, she cleared her throat and began. 

"Well, there's not much to say," she began. "I was walking in the mall when he—" she glared at Inuyasha, acting her part and trying not to laugh. "When he spilled coffee on my jacket _and he has the nerve to sue me_."

The judge blinked; clearly, this was not something he had expected. "Um...Inuyasha Takahashi? Your case, please."

Inuyasha grinned. "Like, dude," he said and then gave a big snort. "I was in the mall, dude, looking for sports equipment, and then I spilled my coffee on that dudette, and she was like, 'dude!' and I was like 'dude!' So I'm suing her."

He snorted again, louder. He didn't dare to look at Kagome, but he could tell from the coughs on her side of the room that she was hiding laughter too.

The judge's eyes were wide. Extremely puzzled, he asked, "so _you're_ suing _her_ because _you_ spilled coffee on _her_ jacket?"

"Yeah," Kagome said, scowling. _Inuyasha should get an Oscar for that_, she thought to herself.

"Yup," Inuyasha agreed.

The judge, even more bewildered than before, blinked. "Er...I...um..." Regaining his composure, he declared, "this has been a most _interesting_ case. And the winner obviously is Kagome Higurashi, who will receive eight thousand dollars."

-

The next day... 

Inuyasha trudged to his locker the next dreary Monday morning, still bleary-eyed from waking up so early.

He saw a familiar face waiting for him by his locker. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes, making sure he was seeing properly.

Inuyasha gasped. "_Kikyou_?"

-

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHA!


	15. soap opera

Chapter 15

Guess what? Guess what? I got into all the high schools I applied to! Beams Going to Presentation! Lala…

Anyway, it's been…like, five months! I AM SO SORRY!

Since you probably have forgotten what happened previously, let's recap.

XXX

_From the previous chapter…_

_Inuyasha trudged to his locker the next dreary Monday morning, still bleary-eyed from waking up so early._

_He saw a familiar face waiting for him by his locker. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes, making sure he was seeing properly._

_Inuyasha gasped. "Kikyou?"_

XXX

The girl turned around. It was indeed Kikyou.

Kikyou, his ex-girlfriend, who had moved out of the country…

"I…what are you doing here?" Inuyasha blurted, mind reeling.

Kikyou shrugged. "Moved back." She seemed to be waiting for him to say something more.

XXX

_On Sunday night…_

Kagome had been at Sango's house for the past couple of hours, acting, for once, like normal teenagers—after thanking Sango profusely for the bake sale money, they lapsed into talking about boys. Inuyasha and Miroku, to be more specific.

"So anyway," Sango was fuming, "I basically told him that I liked him, and what does he do? He turns around to flirt with other girls while _I_ counted the money!"

Kagome nodded sympathetically.

"So _then_," Sango continued. She stopped, contemplating. "Oh yeah, did I tell you that when I told him I liked him, he…"

After she had repeated the story, she added, "And remember? I told him I liked him and he turned around to flirt…"

Kagome rolled her eyes. When Sango ranted, she was not the most coherent person. "_Yes_, Sango," Kagome told her, "I remember. You said that four times already."

Sango blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. Sorry."

Kagome shrugged.

"Anyway," Sango smiled, her eyes sparkling, "What's happening with you and our little hanyou? Spill!"

"Nothing!" Kagome replied quickly, blushing.

Sango raised her eyebrow. "You're a horrible liar."

Sighing, Kagome relented. "Fine."

"Well?"

Kagome was silent. How _did_ she feel? She allowed herself to bask in her conflicting thoughts and let them battle each other.

_The stupid jerk Inuyasha got me into the whole mess…but it was my fault for being so naïve. Inuyasha's shallow, insensitive, and rich…but he's helping me, and it's not his fault that his parents are wealthy_…

"You like him, don't you?" Sango asked, breaking the silence.

"I—no!—he's a jerk," Kagome sputtered, racking her brain for any excuse she could possibly make.

Sango shook her head. "Sure."

Kagome sighed and thought honestly about the question. Did she? Her heart pounded faster when she saw him. And she often found herself blushing. And wondering how he would think of her.

"Yes," Kagome whispered silently.

"Eh?" Sango said, her eyes glued to the TV.

"I do! I do like him!" Kagome muttered in a rush, making Sango grin like an idiot for two minutes straight.

"And he likes you too," Sango added. "So go tell him tomorrow. Or else."

Kagome rolled her eyes but agreed.

XXX

Kagome skipped to Inuyasha's locker and opened her mouth to speak to him. But she stopped abruptly.

Someone else was already there next to him. Too close.

Laughing. Talking. Hugging.

"So," the girl was asking Inuyasha, acting the part of "jealous girlfriend" down smack, "who's that girl that you hang out with so often?"

Inuyasha was silent for a moment; Kagome thought he was going to defend her. But then he said, almost _mockingly_, "She's _nobody_. At all."

Kagome gasped.

So, she thought, anger overcoming any other emotion, the day she was going to tell Inuyasha she liked him, he was…

After everything they had done together—including breaking the law, for Heaven's sake—, he had just dismissed her as "nobody?"

She shook her head, backing slowly against the wall. Just overreacting…

Then Inuyasha saw her, his eyes filled with horror, while the girl behind him wore a confused expression. "Kagome?"

Inuyasha stared at her. "I—I'm sorry…I didn't mean it…"

Kagome stared at him and felt her eyes watering. She wouldn't let him see her cry. She wouldn't show weakness in front of him. The only solution was to insult him. She would have liked to swear, to curse at him for hurting her. Swear words, however, we not memorable—and she wanted Inuyasha to remember every word—they were, in fact, more grown up ways to call someone an "ugly, boogery, butthead."

She opted for a more colorful insult.

Her voice shaking—not with anger but because she was going to cry; however, it didn't hurt if Inuyasha thought she was angry—, she spat, "Save it, Inuyasha. Go stick your head down the toilet like a good little doggy—and remember to _flush_."

With that, she spun on her heel and ran.

Only then did the tears start.

XXX

Inuyasha groaned. He was _such an idiot_! Why did he say those things? He didn't mean them the least bit. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_! He mentally kicked himself. And then punched himself. And then whacked himself…

Kikyou looked at him. She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. She knew him better than he knew himself—although that wasn't exactly a talent, as Inuyasha didn't know himself at all. "You like her, don't you?" Kikyou asked quietly.

Inuyasha's first impulse was to deny it. Deny everything, no questions asked. "No," he said quickly.

Kikyou smiled sadly. She liked Inuyasha, of course, but he had moved on. Part of her wanted to be vindictive, but what would she gain? Nothing, really. She would have to take the mature route no matter how much it hurt her. "Inuyasha," Kikyou said gently. "Go. Run after her."

Inuyasha stared. "What?"

Kikyou shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine without you. She won't."

Inuyasha nodded, swallowing hard. "Thank you, Kikyou," he said gruffly.

With one last nod, he was gone.

XXX

Sango was anticipating Kagome's return. Kagome had dashed off to meet Inuyasha, leaving her in homeroom, staring at the clock.

Humming to herself, she watched the second hand click its way around and around, waiting for someone interesting.

"Hi," Miroku said, popping out of nowhere.

"Ack!" Sango yelped, then relaxed. "Oh, it's you."

Miroku grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the hall, ignoring her protests.

"What are you _doing_?" she hissed at him.

"You'll see," he said, grinning at her. Miroku cleared his throat, handing her a single, red (though slightly limp and wrinkled) rose. "Sango? Will you go to the dance with me?"

Sango, surprised, turned the color of the rose—a very dark red. _Finally! It's about _time! To hide her embarrassment, she joked, "Hmm…Let me think…"

Miroku whined, hopping around and poking her. "Please? Please? Please?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "I'm just kidding, Miroku—and yes, I will." She grinned stupidly.

Miroku looked back, the expression on his face matching hers, and they walked idiotically back to class.

XXX

And so, one couple began their day with brimming joy; the other with broken-hearted sadness, while another woman lay in a hospital, broken physically and emotionally.


End file.
